When The Stars Go Out
by Spectre Skillen
Summary: Maya Cameron is a star athlete and brilliant student but no-one has it perfectly. When her parents die in a tragic accident at age 15, Maya moves in with her aunt, Doctor Allison Cameron. Tragedy strikes again as it always does but maybe this time it's a blessing in disguise… I DO NOT OWN HOUSE MD OR CODE BLACK. NO COPY RIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
1. Chapter 1: BURNING UP

**_CONTEXT PLEASE READ:_** The first half of this story will take place around 2007, roughly season 2/3 of House MD. When the timeline jumps to 2015/2016 it will be in the current timeline of Code Black. Warning there will be HEAVY SPOILERS FOR CODE BLACK!

 ** _Chapter 1:_** BURNING UP

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I open the door to Aunt Ali and I's apartment. It was 5:50 in the morning and we were both due to be at different places at 8:30. I close the door swiftly and walk into kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge. But before I even make it a sharp pain hits my torso. I stop in my tracks and clutch my stomach. _Stupid scars_.

"Are you okay?"

I jump slightly at the sound of Aunt Ali's voice. I drop my arm and close the distance between me and the fridge.

"Yeah, fine. Just a stitch," I say with a smile. _Please don't get protective. Please don't get..._

"It's your scar tissue again isn't it?" She says. I turn to face her and I see concern across all her features. _Great_.

"You know it gets worse when it's cold out," I say leaning against the kitchen counter and taking a drink. "What are you doing up so early anyway? You only usually get up around 6:30 if we're lucky."

"Couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come and see if you're back from your run. Which you are," Ali says walking over to the coffee machine.

I don't push the topic. I know rightly why she can't sleep. I've even heard her crying at night. I'm not sleeping either but I can get away with getting up at 5:00. So I decide to change the subject.

"So is it still okay for me to meet you at the hospital after practise?" I say.

"Yeah, of course," She says. "What time should you be finished at?"

"About half four, five. Depends on how hard the coach pushes us. With regionals next week he's starting to get twitchy," I say scratching my side which had suddenly gotten itchy.

"He wouldn't be pushing you so hard if you weren't the top short, middle and long distance runner in the state," She smirks.

"You know me, always striving to be the best," I smile still scratching my side. Thankfully she hasn't noticed. "I'm away to get a shower."

And with that I leave and head into the bathroom. I lock the bathroom door and look into mirror. I lift my running vest and run my fingers over the rash I found when I woke up.

Don't tell Ali. She'll only panic. It's probably just a dust allergy.

Gosh, I hope it's just a dust allergy.

By the time I reach school, my head is pounding. But I ignore it. Don't tell Aunt Ali. She'll panic and I'll end up in hospital again. The last time it was a head cold. Not life threatening with what I have. I can't let that happen again.

I go up to my locker and start to dump my stuff in it. I'm in the process of locating my calculus textbook when I feel strong arms go around my waist. I smile and carry on my search.

"Hey Deekes. Do we have an excuse for this wonderful greeting?" I smile.

"You look pale and like you're having a bad morning. I thought I might as well cheer my best friend up with a hug," Deekes says resting his chin on my head. "Now are you going to tell me what's wrong?

"I've got a bit of a headache," I mumble still trying to find the textbook. "I'm fine. Just tired, I haven't been sleeping."

I suddenly feel Deekes arms let me go of me and spin me round to face him. He starts to check under my eyelids and my temperature. I sigh and push his hands away, pinning them to his sides. Thankfully he complies because I know I'm nowhere near strong enough to push him away. I'm an athlete but so is he.

"Deeken, I'm fine," I say.

"Are you sure?"

"It's just a stress headache. I haven't been sleeping and you know why," I say desperately trying to ignore the anniversary that was next week.

"Are you sure? Maya you have an immunodefic…" He begins.

"I'm sure!" I say cutting him off. I was starting to get frustrated. "I have Asplenia. Meaning my spleen is barely functional. I have a higher chance of dying from sepsis, meningitis and a whole bunch of other hard to catch bacteria. That does not include stress headaches."

Deekes sighs before replying. "Sorry, I'm just worried about you. I nearly lost you two years ago. I just don't want that to happen again."

"I know."

And with that the bell rings and I head to class. I just knew it was going to be a long day.

By the time I made to the hospital my headache was five times worse. I had spent the day avoiding Deekes and I'd nearly fallen asleep in a few periods. Training had been brutal and by the time we had finished my head and scars were throbbing. I just wanted to go home and sleep but I knew that wasn't going to be anytime soon.

I finally make it to the floor Ali works on and knock on the Differential Diagnostic team's conference room's door. I enter and see Ali, Foreman and Chase sitting round the conference table. Goodness knows where House is.

"Hey Maya," Ali says looking up from the file she's reading. But when she sees me a look of concern crosses her face. Gosh, was it really that obvious. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit of a headache," I smile putting my backpack and gym bag down in front of me on the conference table.

She obviously doesn't believe me as she quickly makes her way over to me and checks my eyelids and eyes. I flinch away from her torch and cover my eye when a sharp pain rips through my skull.

"When was the last time you had a migraine?" She says putting the back of her hand on my forehand. "Crap, you're burning up."

"Two weeks ago," I say pushing her hands away. "Aunt Ali, I'm fine. It's just a stress headache. I'm tired. I haven't been sleeping. You know that."

"No I didn't," She says sternly. "Outside. Now."

I reluctantly follow her and ignore the looks Chase and Foreman give me. We are barely through the door before the questions start.

"What do you mean you're not sleeping?" She says quietly but with authority.

"Well I lie in my room, usually at night, and don't fall asleep. If I do fall asleep I don't usually stay that way…" I say sarcastically rubbing my head. I was not in the mood for this.

"Don't use that tone with me," She snaps.

"Sorry," I mumble. I was starting to feel dizzy and I was hoping she wouldn't notice.

"Are the nightmares back?"

"I wouldn't call them nightmares," I say quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"Awk, Maya," Ali says giving me a hug but I barely feel it as my vision starts to blur.

"Ali, I don't feel so good," I say as she releases me. My legs were getting weaker and my vision worse. I reach towards the glass window of the conference room desperately trying to get some steadiness.

"In what way?" She says in shock.

"Dizz..."

I don't get to finish as my legs finally give out. My vision is still there but barely. Ali grabs me before I hit the ground and quickly lowers me. I try to focus on her frantic voice but I can't and everything goes black.


	2. Chapter 2: A NEW CASE

**_Chapter 2:_** NEW CASE

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

"CHASE! FOREMAN! HELP!" I yell.

Maya was still in my arms. Her breathing was fast and her skin was clammy. And all I could do was panic. This can't happen again. No. No.

I quickly push my emotions back and put her in the recovery position. Come on Maya, wake up. Please. I take out my torch and pull open her eyelids. I flick the light over her eyes quickly and get moderate response.

"Maya, can you hear me?" I say. "Maya!"

By this point two nurses have brought round a gurney and Chase has come out. I suspect Forman is trying to find House.

"Cameron, step back," I hear Chase say. "Let us take over."

My mind doesn't register but my body does and I push myself back. I feel a hand on my shoulder and from how gentle it is I presume it's Cuddy, who was probably up here to find out where House was. Panic was still coursing through me but it was slowly being replaced with dread.

"Her asplenia… What if she has something that…?"

"Cameron, she's going to be…" Cuddy starts.

"No. We don't know that. Her spleen is barely functional it may not be able to handle…" I ramble on cutting her off.

"Allison!"

I stop at the sound of Cuddy's tone. She never uses my first name. Well she does but only when she needs to grab my attention.

"Let's get you back into conference room where we can do a medical history," Cuddy says helping me up. "Foreman is trying to find House and Wilson. Is there anyone we can call?"

"My brother and her best friend," I say still trying to calm down.

"Okay," Cuddy says making me sit down at the conference table. She grabs a notepad and pen and puts it in front of me. "Can you write down what Maya is on please?"

I nod and take the lid of the pen. I start to write...

 _Medication_

 _Ferrous Galfer - three times daily_

 _Daily Vitamin supplements_

 _Anti-sickness and Triptan medication for migraines_

 _Loratadine_

 _Eppi-pen_

 _Anti-anxiety meds_

 _Needs to be started on a prophylaxis to help Asplenia_

 _Allergies_

 _Penicillin (causes Anaphylaxis)_

 _Dust (Usually causes a rash on her wrists but her room is kept clean so is rare)_

 _Additional Information_

 _Has Asplenia (Had to have a Splenectomy_ _after severe_ _trauma to her spleen in a car accident. Only 20% of the spleen is functional)._

 _Has AB- blood type_

I put the pen down and hand Cuddy the pad. She reads over it and then looks up.

"How old was she when she had the Splenectomy?" She asks

"Fifteen. She was in a major car accident with her parents. He father died on impact and mother died on route to hospital. Maya was impaled with a shard of glass to the lower right of her abdomen, impaled with another shard of glass to the upper left of her torso doing severe damage to her spleen and she also received a head injury which we suspect is the cause of her migraines. She barely made it off the table. She flat lined twice and needed a blood transfusion," I say quietly desperately trying to fight back tears. "I became her legal guardian as my brother was deployed at the time. She's still trying to get over what happened."

"How old is she?"

"Seventeen. She turns eighteen in April."

Before Cuddy can ask anything else Chase comes in looking frantic.

"We've put her on oxygen to try and get her to come round faster. She has a fever of one hundred and five and is clammy. A nurse is starting to change her now," Chase says. "Her pulse is starting to go back to normal maybe lower…"

"It's supposed to be lower than average. She's a short, middle and long distance runner. Her resting pulse is 50bpm. She does regular cardiovascular training and muscle conditioning," I say cutting him off, rubbing my head feeling a tension headache coming on. "Have you started her on a prophylaxis yet?"

"Prophylaxis? Why?" Chase says.

"She has Asplenia. Only 20% of her spleen is functional," I say. "Just don't give her anything that has penicillin in it. She has a severe allergy to it. She'll go into anaphylaxis if you give it to her."

Yet again before he can respond a nurse comes in behind him.

"Sorry for interrupting but when we were changing the patient we found a rash on her stomach," She says.

I sigh and put my head in my heads. This just keeps getting worse.

Chase nods and says thank you before walking over to the white board. He rubs out all the writing on it and writes the words MAYA CAMERON at the top and then splits the board in two, one side symptoms the other causes. Under symptoms he writes FEVER, RASH, FAINTING, HEADACHE and DIZZINESS.

"Looks like we have a new patient," House says. I jump at the sound of his voice and turn to see he has walked in while Chase was writing. "How exciting!"

I glare at him for his insensitivity but all he does is smile back innocently.

"And Chase, no writing on my board," He says snatching the pen off him.

This was going to be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3: HEADACHE

**_Chapter 3:_** HEADACHE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I wake up to the sound of beeping and a throbbing headache. I open my eyes and instantly close them again. The light was intense and sent shooting pains through my skull. I open them again but this time more slowly. I squint through the blurry vision and bring my hand up to take away the mask. But a hand grabs my wrist.

"Maya?"

It's Aunt Ali. I try to turn my head in her direction but it's stiff and makes the movement harder than it should. I let out a whimper and she instantly releases my wrist. I take the chance to take the oxygen mask off and leave it beside me.

"Where does it hurt?" She asks.

"My head. My neck is a bit stiff too," I say quietly. My eyes were adjusting but my head hadn't.

"Migraine level?"

"No. It's just sore and the light in here isn't helping. When can we go home?" I say weakly. I just wanted to go home to my own bed. It was a long shot but it was what I wanted.

"We can't go home just yet sweetheart," Aunt Ali says, stroking my hair. "We need to figure out what's wrong. It might be serious due to your spleen and your fever still hasn't gone down."

"Did they start the Prophylaxis yet?" I ask.

"Yeah and it hasn't made a difference," She says taking her hand away. Tiredness was starting to hit me again and I was struggling to stay awake. "I'm going to go and get Chase, Cuddy or one of the nurses to check you out. Can you stay awake until then?"

"Yeah," I say but another question springs to mind just as she reaches the door. "Why can't you do it?"

"I'm too close to the case. But if it makes you feel better the team I work for is on it and Cuddy is taking my place," She smiles. "I'll get her to check your vitals. She tends to be nicer than Chase and Foreman and is most definitely nicer than House."

"But you're the immunologist on the team. What if it's something to do with my asplenia?"

"Then they'll figure it out," She says. "Now stay put. I'm away to go and get Cuddy."

Aunt Ali leaves and I close my eyes to try and help the headache. However every time I feel like I'm about to doze off I open them again. But it was getting harder to stay awake. Hurry up. Just as I'm about to give into the tiredness Cuddy walks in wearing a white lab coat over her usual suit.

"Hey Maya," She says with a smile as she walks over. "It's good to see you're awake."

"Hi Doctor Cuddy," I smile. I knew she was going to tell me off for calling her that as she has looked after me in her office on a few occasions when Ali had to work late on a case.

"I told you not to call me that," She smirks as she puts on a pair of latex gloves. "It's Lisa or Cuddy."

"I just thought because you're treating me I have to call you Doctor," I smile.

"Nope, you just call me Lisa or Cuddy," She smiles pulling out her torch. "Now I need you to follow my torch with your eyes."

I do so easily as she moves it back and forward in front of my eyes.

"Pupil responsive," She says writing it down on my chart. "Now I need to check their response to stimuli."

Cuddy switches on the torch and shines it into my right eye. I automatically shut them and let out a small whimper as the pain in my head worsens. I feel hands on my shoulders as I clutch my head.

"Maya, does light make the headache worse?" Aunt Ali asks her voice full of concern.

I nod as I open my eyes and find it was Cuddy who had grabbed me. She doesn't use the torch again but checks my lids.

"Your eyes are a bit bloodshot and you're light sensitive," She says once she is finished. "We need to add that to the symptoms list. Now I need to check your temperature."

She puts the torch away and pulls out a thermometer. When the test is over a look of concern goes across her face.

"You still have a fever of one hundred and five. If it doesn't break soon we're going to have to give you something," She says. "Now I need to check your heart and breathing."

She checks my chest and I breathe in and out as I'm told. She also checks my back. Everything checks out.

"Now I just need to check your rash and that'll be us for now," She smiles. "Now can you lie down please?"

I comply and try to relax as Cuddy pulls back the blankets and lifts up my hospital gown. Thankfully they left my bra and pants on or this would have been more awkward than it already is. My rash has gotten worse from this morning now covering more of my stomach. It was red and blotchy and itchy as heck.

"When did you find the rash?" Cuddy asks as she presses lightly on my stomach. I flinch slightly from the contact.

"This morning. I thought it was just my dust allergy and would fix itself if I kept taking my antihistamines," I reply.

"Is it itchy?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," She says as she fixes my hospital gown. "We're going to run some tests once we have a discussion on possible causes."

"Okay," I say pulling the blankets over me. I pull them close to me shivering.

"Are you cold?" Aunt Ali asks grabbing my arm comfortingly.

"A bit," I say pulling the blanket closer. I can feel the drowsiness coming at me again and I fight to keep my eyes open.

"That's probably just the fever. Your body is losing a lot of heat," Cuddy replies putting the back of her hand on my forehead briefly. "Is there any other symptoms you're experiencing?"

"I have a stiff neck and I'm struggling to stay awake."

"The tiredness is probably just down to the fever and headache. I'll get you something to ease the headache now," Cuddy says. "Just try and get some rest okay?"

"Yeah," I nod lying down.

And with that Cuddy pats my shoulder and tells me she'll be back in a minute leaving me alone with Aunt Ali.

"Aunt Ali… look, I need to apologize. I should have told you about the rash when I found it this morning," I say.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," She says pushing the hair out of my face.

"But I should have told you regardless. Not wait and end up in the hospital for collapsing. I know how dangerous my asplenia is. I should have…" I push on.

"Yeah there's that but I understand why you didn't tell me."

"You do?" I ask surprised.

"Yeah. I can get over protective sometimes and because I know more about the condition than most due to my specialisation I tend to overreact. But please, Maya, You have got to realise you can tell me anything," She says.

Before I can respond Cuddy walks back in with a small plastic cup and a glass of water.

"Got you some Aspirin," She smiles handing me the two cups. "This should help ease the headache."

"Thank you doc... Cuddy," I say. She smiles at my correction.

I take the tablets and give her the two cups back. She smiles at me and heads towards the door.

"Now get some rest."

I look at Ali who gives me a nod. "It's okay. You need to rest. We can finish talking when you wake up."

I nod and lie back down. I turn onto my side bringing my knees closer to my chest. Barely a minute goes by and I'm asleep.


	4. Chapter 4: DEEKEN

**_Chapter 4:_** DEEKEN

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

I watch as Maya's breathing becomes deeper and her heart rate slows on the monitor. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and had the blanket wrapped around her. She was shivering but her temperature was still extremely high. Even if the shivering doesn't go away we'll have to ice pack her soon. I kiss her forehead gently before getting up. Memories were bombarding me and I needed to breathe.

I walk out of the hospital room and to the doctor's lounge. I'm half way through making coffee when I hear someone come in. I turn round and see its Cuddy. She has a tired look on her face. It was late. We were all tired.

"I was just getting some coffee," I say quietly. "I just needed to get out of there."

"You're trying to not link it with what happened two years ago, aren't you?" She says.

"Yeah," I say barely above a whisper. "Do you know what next week is?"

"No. Does it have significance?"

"Thursday is the anniversary of the car accident. Of the night Aaron and Lucia died. Maya's nightmares are back. She still hasn't completely come to terms with what happened. She saw her father die before passing out from the pain. When she woke up her mother was dead and she had a severe immune deficiency. She had to get sick now. She had to get sick when she's that vulnerable," I say. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I desperately try and control them.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Because I thought you'd remember due to you telling me but you were so busy that day I'm not really surprised. I also thought I could deal with but I can't. Not with her fever not coming down. If she gets severely ill she might die…"

"I'm sorry. I should have remembered. House wouldn't have. You need someone right now who isn't a seventeen year-old. No offence," Cuddy says sadly. "And I know illness is especially bad for her but we have three of the best diagnosticians in the state trying to figure out what's wrong."

I nod and then give her a slight smirk. "I think you mean four."

"Thank you but I haven't been the best in years," She chuckles. "Now the real reason I came in here was to tell you a Deeken Harper is here. He says he knows Maya."

"Yeah. That's her best friend. I'll go get him now," I say as I pour the coffee.

"He's her best friend? He's seems a bit too concerned to just be her friend," Cuddy smirks.

"They're close. They've been friends since they were ten. Deeken stuck with her through her physio therapy. Through her re-integration into school. He knows how to deal with her if she has a severe allergic reaction. If she faints due to low iron levels. I've suspected he has feelings for her but he's never asked her out. To be quite honest, Maya doesn't even have time for a boyfriend."

"And you're okay with that?"

"He's a good kid and if he hurts her I hurt him. I also have access to dangerous chemicals… He knows where he stands," I smirk heading towards the door.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," She says holding the door open for me.

I exit the lounge and I automatically see Deeken. He looks concerned and is pacing back and forward. He looks scared and when he sees me he looks ready cry. He reminds me of the kid I saw two years ago. Desperate and scared.

"Doctor Cameron," He says. "Where's Maya?"

"She's in her room asleep," I say. "She's running a high fever, has a rash, stiff neck and headache. We don't know what's wrong but we have the best people we have trying to figure that out."

"Okay, okay."

"Now where are your parents? Are you here alone?" Cuddy asks coming up behind me.

"I'm here by myself. Both of them are still working. They have the night shift. My dad's a fire fighter and mom's a detective."

"Do they know you're here?"

"My mom does. I can't get a hold of my dad. The station says he's away on a call," Deeken says. "My mom says she'll come down when her shift is over at midnight."

"Okay. It's around eight thirty now so she'll be here in about four hours," I say nodding. "Now do you want some coffee? Tea?"

"No thank you," He says quietly. He then looks away from us and takes a deep breath before continuing. "I should've realised she was sick."

"What do you mean?" Cuddy pushes.

"She was complaining she had a headache this morning. She said she was fine but she looked pale. I should have made her get checked out at the school nurse," He says.

"Deeken you couldn't have known. Maya is constantly getting headaches due to the head injury she sustained during the accident. Do not blame yourself," I say.

"At least now we have a better timeline of symptoms," Cuddy says. "Rash first, then headache, then fever, then fainting and lastly stiff neck. I'm going to go back to the conference room now. Come and find me if you need anything."

I nod and watch as Cuddy leaves.

"Doctor Cameron, I know she's asleep but can I see her?" Deeken asks putting his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"Of course, her room is this way," I smile gesturing to Maya's room. "And please call me Allison."


	5. Chapter 5: COOL DOWN

**_Chapter 5:_** COOL DOWN

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I wake with a start to an overwhelming feeling of nausea and soaked in sweat. The room is dark and I can see Aunt Ali's silhouette in the chair beside the bed. She's sleeping. Crap. I'm going be sick.

"Aunt Ali?" I whimper.

She wakes up instantly and even in the dim lighting I can see the look of concern on her face.

"Maya what's wrong?"

"I think I'm going to be sick," I say. The nausea was getting worse and I sit up.

Aunt Ali reaches beside her and grabs a wash basin. I take it gratefully and lean over it placing it on my knees.

"I'll be back in a second," She says stroking my hair comfortingly. "I'm just going to get Cuddy."

I nod and watch as Aunt Ali walks out the door. She's barely gone before I throw up into the basin. I only throw up once but I'm still gagging when Cuddy walks in. Aunt Ali is close behind and puts her hand on my back when she reaches me. I throw up again and let out a quiet moan when I finally finish.

"Maya?" Cuddy says trying to get my attention. I turn my head slightly but close my eyes, the nausea still strong.

"Are you still nauseous?" She asks.

"Yeah," I choke out before putting my head over the bucket again and throwing up.

I let out a whimper and Aunt Ali rubs my back trying to comfort me. "You're okay. You're okay," She says quietly.

My head was pounding. My stomach churning and I could feel the dizziness starting to return. I was no longer cold and I felt like I was going to melt. I start to sway but I'm quickly steadied by Cuddy grabbing me. I look up when I hear a familiar voice.

"Maya? Are you okay?"

"Deekes?" I mumble.

"Yeah it's me," He says quietly. "Can I get her anything?"

"Can you ask one of the nurses for a glass of water?" Aunt Ali asks.

"Yeah, I can," He replies.

"Than…" I begin but I don't get to finish as I throw up again.

When I finish, I lean to the right against Aunt Ali desperately trying to steady myself. I felt weak and the dizziness was getting gradually worse. I was finding it hard to stay awake and I could find myself starting to fade.

"Maya are you still dizzy?"

I nod still fighting sleep. I look up as Deekes returns but the majority of my weight is still mostly across the bed and Ali. He looks terrified.

"Deekes don't worry about me," I whisper, my voice weak. "I'm fine."

"You don't need to lie to me. You're obviously not fine," He says handing the glass of water to Cuddy. "Here."

"Thanks," Cuddy says. She walks over to me and makes me take a few sips. I reluctantly comply just wanting to go back to sleep.

"We need to check your temperature again," Aunt Ali says, looking at Cuddy. "She's soaked through and just her leaning on me is making me feel warm."

Cuddy nods and I watch with bleary eyes as she grabs the thermometer. I open my mouth letting her take my temperature and when it reads her face goes from calm to panicked.

"What is it?" Aunt Ali asks.

"Her fever is now at one hundred and six. We need to cool her down," She says walking to the door. "Nurse, I need ice packs and cooling blankets."

"Do you think it's something to do with the hypothalamus?" Ali asks.

"Well if it was just a cold or flu it should have went down by now so that's what I'm suspecting," She says helping the nurse pull in the cart. "We're going to have to start running tests to figure out what this is."

Aunt Ali nods and then turns to me. "Maya, I need you to lie down sweetheart."

I nod and she takes the basin away. I see Deekes sticking to the side in the corner of my eye as I lie down.

"Now Maya this is going to be a bit cold," Cuddy says grabbing a see through package off the cart and a pair of scissors. Aunt Ali pulls the blankets back and grabs another pack. "We're going to try and bring your temperature down manually. If we let it get any higher you'll be in danger of brain damage. Do you understand?"

I nod and Cuddy cuts open the pack and pours the liquid over my body. I gasp at the coldness of the liquid and the heart rate monitor starts to beep faster from the shock. Aunt Ali does the same and I start to shiver from the sudden temperature drop. The nurse comes round the other side and puts a blue pack across my head. Cuddy puts one on my stomach and Ali puts one across my legs.

I was scared and I knew this wasn't going to be the worst of it. I lie in the bed shivering and Aunt Ali puts her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I know it's cold but it's the only way we can bring your fever down without giving you an ice bath," She says.

Deekes was still in the corner and I watch him watch Cuddy and the nurse leave the room. He looks terrified. At least someone was showing their emotions.

"Cameron can I talk to you for a second?" Cuddy calls.

"Yeah of course," She calls back. She then turns to Deekes. "Can you keep an eye on her while I go talk to Cuddy?"

"Of course," He says and he comes to my left hand side as she leaves. He takes my hand and smiles weakly at me. "You sure know how to cause trouble Speedy."

I chuckle slightly but stop due to pain in my head. Instead I look at our hands and take comfort in how our fingers are intertwined.

I close my eyes. I was sick and thinking about how I like the look of him holding my hand. Gosh. Now is not the time to think about my feelings for him. I was weak and sick. I wasn't thinking straight. So instead I let myself drift into a restless sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: DIFFERENTIAL

**_Chapter 6:_** DIFFERENTIAL

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

I follow Cuddy into the conference room where House, Chase and Foreman are talking about possibilities. House looks smug as usual while Chase and Foreman look exasperated.

"I want you to be here while we talk about causes," Cuddy says. "We need your expertise on her immune deficiency."

"Okay," I say sitting down.

"Now who wants to start?" House says clapping his hands together. "Chase what about you, any ideas?"

"It could be Viral Syndrome," He says.

"WRONG!" House says. "If she had Viral Syndrome the antibiotics in the prophylaxis would have fixed it. Stop being an idiot. Foreman your turn!"

"It could be Bacterial Pneumonia. It would explain the fatigue, headache, fever, chills..." Forman begins.

"WRONG!" House cuts off. "Number one, the patient doesn't have a cough. Number two, her breathing is fine. Number three we aren't explaining the nausea. Number four, it doesn't explain the rash. And number five, Cameron isn't sick. Do you need any more reasons because I'm sure my brain could come up with more?"

"What about Lyme Disease? I'm not sure where she would have come in contact with ticks but it explains all of her symptoms," I say. It felt good to be actually doing something.

"Now we are getting somewhere! Lyme disease fits the symptoms but it's not that sudden. However, test for it anyway. Now does anyone else have any viable ideas? Or is the one closest person to the patient the clearest in mind set?"

"It could be Mononucleosis. That explains the fever, fatigue, headache and rash. She also does seem to be getting weaker," Cuddy says.

"You think she has the kissing disease?" House says with childish glee. "How cynical and observant of you."

"It's not mono," I say trying to protect Maya. "She doesn't have a boyfriend. Doesn't go to par…"

"You think she'd tell you if she was doing any of that? She's seventeen," House says sarcastically.

"She's an athlete. She takes regular drug tests which include tests for alcohol. She doesn't have time for a boyfriend due to school, training and extracurricular activities."

"Kids usually find a way," House shots back.

"I'm not saying she got mono from kissing. It can be contracted through someone sneezing or coughing on you. Not just by kissing. She's in high school. Those places are practically Petri dishes," Cuddy says before I could respond.

"And to think I was starting to respect you," House says sarcastically.

"Mono would also be having a worse affect on her. Mono causes spleen swelling and with her spleen barely functional she's in even more danger of further infection. I would be sick too. As Cuddy says, Mono is contagious," I say.

"Then we'll fix it. Test for all the things you said. Even the stupid ones. Also throw in Dengue fever, just for the heck of it," He says walking away. I was fuming with him. He was acting like this was a game.

"Where are you going!?" Cuddy calls after him.

"To find some inspiration!"

And with that House leaves.

I stare blankly at the door for a few minutes in pure shock and annoyance. My head was pounding from the stress of the situation and I was finding it hard to stay calm. I make a move to get up and return to Maya's room but I'm stopped by Deeken bursting through the doors.

"Deeken what's wrong?"

"I don't know. One minute Maya was sleeping and the next she was wide awake and writhing in pain," He says frantically.

We all get up and push past through the door. I watch as Cuddy turns towards Chase.

"Find House!"

And with that the rest of us go to Maya's room.


	7. Chapter 7: SPASM

**_Chapter 7:_** SPASM

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I wake up with a start to a sudden pain at the base of my back. I grip Deekes' hand tighter. I feel his arm flinch in shock and he shoots up in his chair. I let out a whimper as the pain doesn't ease. The whimper quickly turns into a sob as the intensity increases.

"Maya what's wrong?" Deekes asks frantically. He puts his right on my check trying to comfort me but it doesn't help. I cling to his left hand tighter.

"My bac…" But I don't get to finish as another wave of pain hits me but this time it my legs. I let out a small cry and tighten my grip on Deekes.

"Help!" He yells. I flinch away from the sound but keep my grip on his hand. "There's something wrong."

Suddenly the room floods with light and I squeeze my eyes shut. Deekes strokes my hair trying to calm me down and all I do is hold him tighter. I hear movement behind me and come in front of me. Deekes releases my hand as soon as a nurse tells him to move. I unwillingly let go and grab the bed barrier instead.

"Go and find Dr Cuddy!" I hear a voice tell him.

Barely a minute goes by before I hear Cuddy and Dr Foreman rush into the room. I hear movement in front of me and someone grabbing my arms gently making me release the side of the bed.

"Maya, sweetheart, look at me," I hear Cuddy say. I open my eyes and squint at her, the light hurting my head. "Can you tell where it hurts?"

"My lower back and… ugh… and my right leg," I say trying to maintain eye contact with her.

"On a scale of one to ten how bad is the pain?"

"Eight."

"Really?" She questions with a sceptic look.

"I've had worse," I smirk. It was true. I have had worse. The pain after the car accident.

I feel someone open the back of my hospital gown and hear the sound of someone putting gloves on.

"The rash has spread to her back." It's Foreman.

I feel him press lightly on the base of my back and I flinch away. He does the same to my leg and my reaction is similar.

"Muscles in her right leg and lower back have went into a spasm," I hear Forman say. "If we inject the affected muscles with a muscle relaxant it should ease the pain. It won't take all the pain away but it'll ease it. Now Maya you'll feel a small prick but other than that it won't hurt a bit."

I give a quick nod and try to stay calm. I hear some rustling behind me and something wet being spread on my back and leg. I stay focused on Cuddy and wince as I feel a prick on my back but I relax almost instantly as my back muscles release. The pain is still there but I no longer feel like my back is on fire. The same happens with my leg and I start to breathe properly for the first time in minutes.

"Feeling better?" Cuddy asks.

"Yes thank you," I reply.

"The nurses are going to change the sheets as they are still wet from the cooling," Cuddy says. "That means we're going to have to put you in a wheelchair briefly. However because of the muscle relaxant, your back and right leg will be hard to move. Also due to your back it'll be hard to put weight on your left leg. So we're going to have to lift you. We can get a nurse or Cameron to help. Or if you have someone you would prefer…"

"Deekes," I say. Cuddy looks slightly surprised at my choice so I quickly explain. "Deekes is a football player. I've seen him tackle a one hundred and eighty pound guy taller than him to the ground. He can lift me easily. If Aunt Ali tried that she'd break herself. Yeah I'm smaller than her but not by much. It's logic…"

"No need to explain yourself. I understand," She smirks.

I stare at her for a second then twig. "No, I don't like him. I mean I like him but I don't _like_ him."

"If you say so," She says with a smirk. I hide my face slightly, blushing. "Mr Harper, can you come in here for a second? We need your help with something."

I hear Deekes walk in and come round the side Cuddy is standing on.

"How can I help?" He smiles.

"We had to give Maya a muscle relaxant in her back and right leg. She needs to be moved however so the nurses can change her sheets. She can't walk properly at the moment so we were wondering if you could lift her from the bed to the wheelchair. If you don't mind that is?"

Deekes looks surprised for a second and then he quickly responds. "Of course."

He carefully comes closer to the bed as Cuddy pulls down the bed guard. Deekes gently puts his left arm under my legs and his right arm around my back. He's as gentle as possible and I have to remind myself he's doing this because he has to.

"Now Speedy, tell me if I'm hurting you," He says as he lifts me and I smirk at his nickname. "Where's the wheelchair?"

"Right here," Cuddy says as she pulls the chair closer.

Deekes sets me down gently and taps my shoulder. I look up and see Aunt Ali in the door smirking at me. I feel myself going red and hide my face in my hair. I was feeling tired again and despite the pain I was feeling I just wanted to sleep. My head drops forward slightly and I jerk it back up again before I drift off.

"Maya, I need you to stay awake for a while longer please," Cuddy says taking the thermometer off the wall. "I just need to check your temperature again. Once I'm finished you can go to sleep. Even if you're still in the chair. "

I nod and open my mouth for the test. She doesn't take long and she actually smiles at the result. Finally, some good news.

"Well your temperature is now at ninety-nine which is lower than it was half an hour ago," She smiles.

I was having difficulty concentrating on her and my head drops forward again. This time she doesn't try to stop me and pushes me back into the chair to make sure I don't fall out. I was afraid to go to sleep properly but I knew I had to. I just hope I fall into dreamless one.


	8. Chapter 8: ELLIOT

**_Chapter 8:_** ELLIOT

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

I sit quietly beside Maya's bed. Cuddy and Chase would be back in half an hour for blood tests and a lumbar puncture. She would then be sent for a CT scan, MRI and X-ray. Hopefully, she won't get worse by then. It was nearing midnight and I was exhausted. I had changed out of my work clothes into a pair of jeans, t-shirt and pumps. So at least I was comfortable.

Every so often Maya flinches and takes a sharp breath. She was in pain. A lot of it but somehow still sleeping. She was exhausted and to be honest so was I. We were both desperately trying to avoid what was coming up. The flinching was from both physical and mental pain and I could only help one. And it wasn't the one she found almost unbearable.

I rub my head and try to focus. My headache was getting worse and I desperately try to make myself believe that it was just a headache and not what Maya had. I close my eyes and pull my legs up onto the chair. I might as well get some rest too.

"Allison?"

I jump slightly and take my legs off the chair. That wasn't Maya. She has never called me Allison. It's my brother. Finally.

"Yeah Elliot it's me," I say.

"What's wrong with her?" He asks coming in.

The room was dark but we could still see Maya under the soft glow of the heart monitor equipment. She wasn't even aware her uncle was here.

"We don't know. She has a fever, rash, severe headache, sensitivity to light, drowsiness, a stiff neck, muscle spasms and muscle pain. She's also thrown up," I say standing up. I was a fair bit shorter than him but in the chair I was even shorter.

"Is she going to be okay?" He asks.

"Well we can have more on that topic when the tests are run. Cuddy and Chase will be here in half an hour to do them."

A few seconds go by in silence before Elliot speaks up.

"She looks awful," He says.

Before I can respond at how rude he is being I hear movement from the bed.

"Good to see you too, Uncle Elliot."

He jumps slightly and I hold back a smirk. That a girl Maya.

"Hey Speedy," Elliot smiles.

"Please don't call me that," She says, pushing herself into a sitting position. She was wincing. The pain was getting worse.

"Deeken calls you that," Elliot shots back playfully.

"Deekes is different," Maya spits back.

"Ohhhh."

Before Maya could respond I grab Elliot's arm gently.

"Could you go and get me some coffee? I could use the caffeine boost," I smile sweetly.

"Of course," He smiles. "Maya do you want anything?"

"Water, please," She says giving me a thankful look.

"I'll be back in ten fifteen minutes."

I watch Elliot leave and turn my attention to Maya.

"How long were you awake for?"

"Long enough to hear the entire conversation."

"Thank you for speaking you up when you did. He was about to get a yelling at from me," I say sincerely.

"And thank you for getting rid of him before I yelled at him," She smiles. She looks pale and seems to be making a huge effort to focus her eyes on me. "And believe me that wouldn't have been pleasant for any of us."

"What are you doing awake anyway?" I say sitting down at the foot of the bed.

"The nausea's back… I didn't want to say anything in front of Elliot. I can't deal with him joking around right now," Maya says quietly. She's swaying slightly and looks to be dizzy. "Have you got the basin?"

"Yeah," I say. I grab the basin and hand it to her and she takes it gratefully.

After about a minute she throws up. It takes her a while to stop but when she does she lets out a weak moan and carries on clinging to basin so tightly her knuckles are white. I run my right hand through her messy blonde hair trying to comfort her.

"Do you think you're finished?"

She shakes her head but the movement causes her to throw up again. She lets out a small sob and gags a bit more before throwing up again. I stroke her hair and after a minute of no vomiting she releases the basin. I take it away and set it to the side. I keep my hand on her back as she puts her head between her knees. I haven't seen her throw up this much since her first migraine.

"Where's Deekes?" She asks. Her voice is quiet and small but it also sounds distant.

"He's away to go and find something to eat. He came straight here without dinner. He shouldn't be long," I say.

Maya gives a small nod keeping her head between her knees. She's swaying slightly so the dizziness must be back. I'm about to get her to lie back down again but Cuddy walks in closely followed by Chase. Seeing how Maya is sitting Cuddy pauses slightly.

"She was sick again. She literally only stopped about a minute ago," I say. Maya was still swaying and her skin was clammy again.

"Maya can you look at me sweetheart?" Cuddy says moving in front of her.

Maya looks up with a hazy gaze. She tries to focus on Cuddy but from the looks of her eyes she's struggling. She drops her head again and the swaying worsens.

"Maya do you know where you are?" Cuddy asks concern coming into her voice.

"Hospital," Maya whispers.

"Do you know why you're here?"

Maya looks up but doesn't reply. Her eyes are glazed and she can just about maintain eye contact. Her breathing is shallow and I can feel heat radiating from her back.

"I think her fever is going back up," I say. "Even through the hospital gown I can feel the heat radiating off her."

"Crap," Cuddy says. She then comes round to the side of the bed and grabs the thermometer off the wall. "Maya I need you to lie down sweetheart."

"Yeah," She mumbles.

Maya lifts her head and Cuddy carefully pushes her legs down. Without the extra support Maya sways dangerously to the left causing me to have to grab her. I lower her down gently and Cuddy puts the thermometer in Maya's mouth. After a few seconds she takes it out.

"Crap, it's at one hundred and seven. Any higher and she'll face brain damage," Cuddy says returning the thermometer to the wall. "We're going to have to do the lumbar puncture now before she gets worse."

"Maya, we need you to lie on your side," Chase says, grabbing the puncture equipment. I watch as Maya weakly pushes herself onto her side. "Now Maya we need you to stay as still as possible. This may hurt due to the muscle pain."

Maya nods and then tries to focus in front of her. She lets out a whimper when Chase puts on the sterilising mixture and I grab her shoulder comfortingly. She closes her eyes when he punctures her back and stays that way until he's finishes. Chase carefully puts a plaster on her back but before I can move her back into a lying position she gags again.

"Maya? Is the nausea back?" I ask but she doesn't respond. She instead convulses slightly and throws up over the bed.

"Maya can you hear me?" Cuddy says moving Maya onto her back.

Maya doesn't respond so Cuddy flashes a light in her eyes. It does nothing to get her attention and when the heart monitor goes nuts Cuddy pushes me to the side. I start to panic when I see Maya's whole body start to convulse.

"She's seizing! I need a crash cart in here!" Chase yells while Cuddy holds her down.

"I need five milligrams of Diazepam!" Cuddy says as the crash cart arrives.

A nurse hands her a syringe and Cuddy quickly injects it into Maya's IV. A few seconds go by and the convulsing stops. Maya's heart rate goes down and I watch as Chase quickly puts a nasal cannula in her nose.

"She's stable," Cuddy says pulling out the syringe. "We need to run a blood test and then take her for a CT scan, MRI and an X-ray."

I take a sigh of relief and lean against the wall. Maya was stable but for how long I did not know. But I desperately hope it's not what I think it is. Please don't let it be what I think it is.


	9. Chapter 9: CRASH

**_Chapter 9:_** CRASH

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _WARNING: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF A CAR ACCIDENT_**

 ** _Flashback, January 27th 2005_**

"Ladies and gentleman thank you for coming to this year's annual winter fundraiser. We hope you have had a good night and have a safe journey home. To finish this evening we will be treated with a performance of Toccata and Fugue by our orchestra with our solo instrumentalists Senior Thomas Young synthesised organ and Sophomore Maya Cameron violin. Maya will be leading the orchestra. We hope you enjoy and thank you for your continued support," The school principal says. He then gestures to us and I take my position by the microphone.

I put my violin under my chin and look at our school music teacher, Miss Turner. She nods and then looks at Thomas who starts playing. As soon as my queue comes in I start to play letting the music take control. I keep an eye on Miss Turner keeping with her tempo and the volume I need to play at. I also make sure I stay in time with the Orchestra. I was playing from memory so every detail was important.

I stop playing when it was for the brass section to play and then come in straight on point again when the rest of the orchestra came back in. We carry on getting louder right up until the end and finish with a crescendo. The audience gives a round of applause and Miss Turner gestures for Thomas and me to bow. As soon as we do so we gesture to the rest of the Orchestra who also stand and bows. We then all gesture to Miss Turner who bows. The night was over and it was time to go home. Thank goodness.

"Maya, sweetheart, that was amazing," My mom says giving me a hug.

"It wasn't that great," I say blushing. "I had an entire orchestra backing me and to drown me out if the need arose."

"Don't be silly, little duck. You were great." My dad says messing my hair up. "Now let's get you home. You have an early start with the match tomorrow."

"Okay," I smile putting my violin case on my back. "By the way, where's Aunt Ali?"

"Oh, she had to rush to work. She saw the end of the concert but got paged in for an emergency," My mom says as we walk out to the car.

"Okay," I smile. Aunt Ali had weird working hours. It didn't bother me. I was just glad she could come to the concert. "I'll text her after the match tomorrow."

Nothing else is said when we reach the car. I silently put my violin in the trunk and get into the back seat behind the driver's seat. The drive is half an hour long so I pull out my Ipod and put my earphones in. For ten minutes I sit in silence listening to my music on shuffle, a range of artists playing being from Linkin Park to Maroon 5.

I start to feel myself drift off but I'm jerked awake by a sudden change of light to my right. I look out the window to see a truck heading towards us at full speed and I quickly pull my earphones out.

"Dad! Watch out!" I yell.

Thankfully he swerves out of the way and the car spins out of control for a few seconds. When we stop there's a few moments of silence, the car filled with heavy breathing. I watch as my dad turns in his seat and smiles at me. I was shaking.

"Are you okay, little du…" He begins.

Suddenly there's a loud bang and a force puts the car in a tail spin. Pain hits my torso hard and I scream. Glass flies everywhere and I feel a sharp pain in my left side. When the car stops moving my head whacks off the seat and my vision blurs slightly. I lift it weakly but I'm pushed back as there is another bang from the opposite side of the car. I catch a glimpse of the wing mirror on the driver's side and see my dad lying there lifeless with a shard of glass sticking out of his neck.

"Dad…" I say quietly. "Dad?"

More glass is flying around the car and I feel another sharp pain hit me but this time on my right. I let out a whimper and when the car finally stops I feel woozy. I catch a glimpse of myself in the rear view mirror and I see scratches covering my face and a large gash in my hair line. I was finding it hard to breath and I desperately try to stay calm.

"Mom?" I yell. I can see her lying limply in the passenger seat but she was still breathing. Her hand was on top of dad's on the gear stick. "Mom!?"

She doesn't respond and I feel panic course through me. I reach round and try to take my seatbelt off but blinding pain courses through me. I let out a sob as my vision starts to blur. I was scared. No. I was petrified but I still fight to stay awake. What feels like a few minutes go by and I finally lose the fight to stay conscious. Every goes black.


	10. Chapter 10: DETERIORATION

**_Chapter 10:_** DETERIORATION

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

 ** _Present day_**

About an hour and a half later Maya is brought back to her room. She's still unconscious and attached to a nasal cannula. Her breathing is shallow and wheezy and she's sweating but shivers greatly. Stupid fever. I look at Cuddy who is at the foot of the bed. She's attaches Maya back to the heart rate monitor and waits a few seconds. Maya's vitals come up as fast heartbeat and low blood pressure. That's not right.

"Find anything?" I ask still looking at the monitor.

"No," Cuddy says. "The CT scan and MRI showed no issues. However the chest X-ray did show signs of infection. We'll know more when the blood test results are back. It's her vitals I'm more concerned about."

I nod and my fear of what it could be scratches at the back of my mind. I cave.

"What if it's Meningitis?" I say quietly. "The symptoms fit."

"It might not be," She says. "Her symptoms also fit CFIDS, Bacterial Pneumonia, Encephalitis…"

"Because those three diagnoses are so much better," I say rubbing my head. The headache was getting worse and I was starting to feel nauseous. "CFIDS means that her running is off the table. She's already lost field hockey. Bacterial Pneumonia would mean her lungs are getting close to giving in. Encephalitis is an infection of the brain. You know why that's bad."

"So is meningitis. You would also be sick," Cuddy points out. She then pauses before continuing. "Are you sick?"

"I have a headache but that's not unusual. I haven't been sleeping well lately. And with Maya in this state I'm stressed," I say.

"Let me take your temperature just to be safe," Cuddy says moving to grab the thermometer but before she can make it Deeken walks in.

"Deeken, what's up?" I say with a smile.

"My mom just got here. She wants me to go home and come back in morning if I'm not up in time for school," He says. "I was wondering if you could call me if there are any developments. If she gets better or worse…"

"Yes of course," I smile.

"Thank you," He smiles. He then awkwardly taps the door. "I'll see you later then."

I watch as he leaves, his black haired head disappearing around the corner. He looks so much like his parents.

"He's a good kid," Cuddy says.

"He is," I say. "He's good to Maya. I appreciate that."

"I also think he's not the only one who's falling," Cuddy says looking at Maya. "Did you see the way she looked at him when he lifted her?"

"Yeah. I just hope she gets the guts to tell him," I say. "Hiding feelings doesn't help anyone."

"Are we sure that we are still talking about Maya?" Cuddy smirks.

I turn way blushing but my attention is grabbed by Maya stirring. She shifts slightly and lets out a small moan.

"Maya?" I say moving to her side.

"Aunt Ali?" She says weakly.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I say.

She looks at me with bleary eyes and takes a deep breath before replying.

"Hurts. Tired," She whispers.

"Where does it hurt Maya?" Cuddy asks coming round the other side of the bed.

"Everywhere."

"Where does it hurt the most, sweetheart?" I ask.

"Head… Migraine level. Back… Stomach… Chest…"

Her voice was getting weaker and the tiredness was starting to take over.

"Awk Maya," I say pushing her hair out of her face. She was still warm. Her fever was still going strong but it felt slightly lower than earlier.

"What symptoms does she usually have with a migraine?" Cuddy asks.

"Severe headache, temperature but not as high as a fever and vomiting but it's not a migraine. I've seen her with a migraine. I've seen her with every migraine. She wouldn't be this bad," I say.

Suddenly Foreman bursts through the door looking terrified.

"The results from the lumbar puncture and blood tests are through. Maya has bacterial meningitis but we didn't catch it in time. Sepsis has started to develop. We think that's what the infection in her lungs is. It explains her vitals and wheezy breathing," He says.

"Aunt Ali…"

"Everything's going to be okay, Maya," I say stroking her hair.

"Aunt Ali… my stomach hurts," She coughs. Her heart rate was going faster and she was struggling to get breath in.

"What!?"

"Cameron step back please," Foreman says as Cuddy pulls up Maya's hospital gown.

Maya's stomach is covered in deep purple bruises and she was still desperately trying to suck in air. I desperately try focus on her but my head was pounding and I was dizzy. The nausea was now coming at me in waves and I lean against the wall desperately trying to find some steadiness.

"Cuddy, I know now's probably not a good time but…" I begin but the nausea hits me hard and I lunge for the basin.

I just about make it and throw up a good few times. I feel Cuddy come up behind me but my legs buckle and she has to grab me before I completely hit the floor. I cling to her weakly and I make another move for the basin. Cuddy grabs it for me and sets it on my knees. I take it weakly and throw up a few more times. Cuddy places her hand on my back and reaches up taking the thermometer off the wall.

"Open," She says.

I comply knowing it was a bad idea to argue and when she looks at the reading her face drops.

"One hundred and six," She says. "Awk Allison."

"I can't be sick. Not now," I whimper.

My body obviously disagreed with me as I throw up again. I let out a weak moan when I'm done and set the basin to the side.

"Allison can you let me see your stomach please?" Cuddy asks.

I give a weak nod and lift my t-shirt up enough so she could see my stomach. I look down and see a red blotchy rash. I let out a whimper and place my head against the window. It's cold and I let out a sigh. I was tired. So tired. And I'm not sure if that's from just throwing up or the fact that I might have meningitis.

"When did you first feel a headache coming on?" Cuddy asks. Nurses were coming into the room at full speed and I flinch away from the sound. I can't remember Foreman calling a code.

"Around when Maya collapsed," I mumble. I was finding it harder to stay awake and I could feel myself drifting off. "It's been gradually getting worse. The rash wasn't there though. It wasn't there when I got changed a few hours ago."

"Just because the symptoms didn't happen in the same order as Maya's still doesn't mean it's not meningitis. You know it presents differently person to person," Cuddy says.

"I know," I say quietly desperately trying to keep my eyes open.

"But it also means something else," Cuddy says. "Every single person on the team, every nurse, Deeken, Deeken's parents and anyone else who has come into contact with you and Maya needs to be tested for Meningitis. The people at Maya's school should be fine though. She was still in early stages then. However we still need to warn the school if people with symptoms start showing up but it's unlikely. Maya was probably at higher risk due to her Asplenia and you're probably sick because you two live together."

I nod and lean my face closer to the window. I was starting to shiver and it doesn't go un-noticed by Cuddy.

"We need to get you up," She says. "Can you walk to a bed?"

"If you give me some help, yeah," I say.

Cuddy nods and then helps me up. A lot of my weight is on her and I felt unsteady. A nurse sees us and goes to my other side. Five minutes later I was sitting on a bed. Today just kept getting worse and worse.

Please let Maya be alright.

Please.


	11. Chapter 11: REALISATION

**_Chapter 11:_** REALISATION

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I desperately try to suck in breath. My lungs cry out for air and my chest burns. I remember something about a tube and now there's a pain in my side. Cuddy said something about surgery but I needed to stabilize first. My organs were failing. The Sepsis was quickly turning into Septic Shock. I'm scared and Aunt Ali isn't here. I want Aunt Ali. Deekes is at home. Goodness knows where Uncle Elliot is.

I want Aunt Ali and Deekes but that isn't going to happen. They took Ali away. She was throwing up and they didn't think I saw it. They thought I was too far out of it. Cuddy is here though. I can feel her hand on mine trying to calm me. She promised Aunt Ali she would stay with me. No matter what happened. But she thinks I'm asleep or in some form of unconsciousness. But I can't sleep. Not in this amount of pain.

I can't describe the pain. It's everywhere but only in one place at the same time. My body is crying out as the sepsis shuts it down and I'm scared. Terrified even.

But I'm not scared about the physical pain. It's the mental turmoil that's paralysing me. I'm thinking of the things I haven't told Ali. Haven't told Deekes. And it infuriates me that I managed to survive that car accident when my parents didn't. To survive and now just to be taken down by freaking Meningitis. It wasn't fair.

I remember a lot about January 27th 2005. Everything actually. Aunt Ali is under the impression that I don't. I led her to believe that I don't. I didn't want to haunt her with the details of that night. I didn't want her to be like me. But lying here now, I believe that she has the right to know. A right to know how her brother died. How her sister-in-law died. Funny how, when you're practically dying, your problems seem to solve themselves.

I remember every detail about that night. The colour of my mom's dress. A simple purple shift dress. My dad was wearing a black suit and blue shirt. No tie. I remember the way there seemed to be glass everywhere as the car spun out of control. How everything seemed to go in slow motion but fast at the same time. I remember how my dad looked lifeless with the glass sticking out of his neck. How my mother's hand held his when he died. A sign of true love.

I also remember the stars. When the paramedics cut me out of the car I came round briefly on the stretcher. However only for seconds. They didn't even notice. But I remember seeing the sky. A sky full of millions of stars. I would have been happy if that was the last thing I ever saw.

Then there's Deekes. He never left me. Never left through my rehabilitation. Never left through my struggles. He stayed when I thought he should have gone. He came to my hospital room everyday and when I got out he came to Aunt Ali's apartment nearly every day. He helped me with school work. Watched endless amounts of chick flicks and comedies with me. The odd action movie. And not once did he complain. Not once.

And now lying in this bed, I realise I love him. And I may never be able to tell him that. How thankful I am for him being there. For him never leaving. And that I love him. That I love more than I can express. He never left.

I was dying and I couldn't get this off my chest.

So I'm fighting. I'm fighting hard. I will not die. Not today. Not tomorrow. I'm going to graduate. I'm going to get into college and become a doctor. I was going to become a traumatologist. A trauma surgeon. Another thing to tell Aunt Ali and Deekes. I was going to live a long life. I was going to survive this.

I'm fighting and it's going to take a lot to make me let go.

I'm holding on.

I am not going to let my star go out.

I am not going to let my parents stars going out mean nothing. Their deaths will mean something. Even if it's just means me fighting for life for the rest of my days.

I am fighting.

And I will win.


	12. Chapter 12: HISTORY

**_Chapter 12:_** HISTORY

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

I lie silently in bed listening to the heart rate monitor. Tests were being run to see if I had Meningitis but, to be safe, treatment had already started. I felt weak and I could feel myself getting weaker. It was going to take a while for the medication to work and that all depended on if it was Meningitis. I stare at the ceiling waiting for Elliot to return. He had left for 'coffee and water' twenty minutes ago.

I was in pain. Everywhere hurt; my back, neck and stomach in particular. My head pounded, the pain being the worse headache I've ever had. If this was what a migraine felt like I felt sorry for Maya. My fever was still high but it wasn't as high as it was. The nausea was still there so the basin was within arm's reach.

But I didn't care. I wanted to be with Maya. I wanted to be with Maya in the ICU. But they couldn't risk me making her worse. And I understand why. The last time I saw her, her kidneys and liver were failing. Her right lung was filling with fluid and a draining tube was needed to be put in. She was due in surgery soon to stop the organ failure and internal bleeding.

"Allison? Are you awake?"

It was Cuddy. Wait… She should be with Maya.

"Yeah," I say sitting up. "Where's Maya?"

"Getting prepped for surgery. Chase is leading it," Cuddy says. "I'm going to observe when she's in. I just wanted to check on you first. How are you feeling?"

"Like crap but probably not as bad as Maya," I say rubbing my head.

"At least you're being honest," Cuddy smiles. "The results are back. You're the only one that has tested positive so far for Meningitis. The only other people that have shown symptoms are Deeken and I. We've both been started on antibiotics as well as everyone else."

"What symptoms?" I ask.

"Headache and some nausea," She replies. "Deeken will be here soon to get the antibiotics and to get tested."

"Okay," I mumble. I was starting to feel dizzy again but that was probably just the pain and fever.

"Is there anything I can do? Call anyone else? From the looks of it Elliot hasn't been very helpful," Cuddy says sitting at the edge of the bed rubbing her head. "Where is he by the way?"

"Goodness knows. He left for "water and coffee" twenty-five minutes ago," I say doing air apostrophes with my fingers. "I told him I wanted water but I really just wanted him to leave."

"Things aren't good between you two are they?"

"There's nothing wrong between us. We're fine," I say. "It's him and Maya. He only shows up for Christmas and birthdays. He was on mission when the accident happened but when he came back he acted like nothing happened. However that wasn't good for Maya. She didn't speak for three months after the accident and even when she started to speak, she only spoke when needed. She turned into an outgoing personality to a quiet reserved person. She still refuses to play her violin, guitar and piano. Elliot doesn't understand that she's not the same anymore. He doesn't understand that Maya doesn't need the Uncle that jokes around constantly. He doesn't understand she needs a support. A foundation. I think Maya is more annoyed with him because Deeken realised that when he was fifteen but a fully grown man didn't."

"Yeah, I can see were she's coming from," Cuddy says sadly. "Now, back to you. Do you need me to do anything?"

I think for a minute before replying. "Would you mind going to my apartment? I'm not allowed to leave with the whole attached to a drip situation. It's just to grab a few things for both me and Maya. Change of clothes. Toiletries. Medications… That type of stuff. I know you're my boss, so if I've over stepped please tell…"

"Allison, stop," She says cutting me off. "I would be happy to. Now what medications do I need to get?"

"The medications that I wrote down on the list earlier and…" I say but I trail off. Cuddy doesn't need to know that. They don't need to know that.

"And what? Allison, what else do you need?"

"Not me. Maya," I say quietly. "She's on anti-depressants and sleeping tablets. She doesn't usually take the sleeping tablets though. She says they disorientate her. That she finds it hard to get up five in the morning to run when she takes them."

"She gets up a five in the morning to run? I thought I was the only person who did that," Cuddy chuckles she then stops. "Why didn't you say anything about Maya earlier?"

"Her anti-depressants won't clash with anything. Maya doesn't like people knowing that she has to take them. Deeken knows but in a way I don't think he does completely. Yeah he visited practically every day after the accident but he doesn't know what happened behind closed doors. How much she struggled," I say quietly. "Please don't tell anyone else."

"I won't, don't worry," Cuddy says but I was having difficulties focusing on her as another wave of nausea hits me.

I reach to the left and grab the basin. I mumble a sorry to Cuddy before throwing up but all she does is tap my leg and tell me it's okay. I'm surprised there's still stuff in my stomach to throw up but I'm obviously wrong.

"Sorry," I say quietly when the nausea subsides. I set the basin down and look weakly at Cuddy.

"It's fine. You have Meningitis. You can't decide when you throw up. When the nausea comes and goes," She says. "Now get some rest. I'll be back in an hour or so with stuff from your apartment."

"How do you know where I live?" I ask lying down.

"Employee file," She smiles getting up.

"Of course," I smirk rolling onto my side. "My keys are in my locker."

"Thank you."

And with that Cuddy leaves. Barely a few minutes go by and I'm asleep. Hopefully Deeken was okay but I couldn't help that now. I cared but I was too tired to help. To weak. But I had to get better. Because the sooner I got better the sooner I could see Maya. And the sooner I could see Maya the sooner the things would be okay.


	13. Chapter 13: GOOD JOB

**_Chapter 13:_** GOOD JOB

 ** _Cuddy's POV_**

I pull up outside of Cameron's apartment complex. It's a nice area and a twenty minute drive from Maya's school. There were good running routes in the area, even a jogging park close by. I can see why Maya picked up running after the accident.

I quickly make my way up to Cameron's apartment on the third floor. I let myself in quickly with the keys from Cameron's locker and enter the threshold. The apartment was modern with a lot of whites and bright colours. There's a glass coffee table in the centre of the room with a sofa pushed to the wall closest to the front door. A TV was directly in front of it. In the corner there was desk with a computer. The kitchen was off to the right but I didn't need to go in there.

I walk down the hall and push open the first door on my right. It looks to be Cameron's room so I walk in. A double bed is in the centre of the room pushed against the wall with a wardrobe in the corner and a chest of drawers beside it. A bedside table is to the right of the bed. Everything is neat tidy. Everything is in its place.

I go over to the chest of drawers and quickly start to get the changes of clothes. I get four sets of underwear and then a set of pyjamas. I then quickly go into the wardrobe and grab a pair of blue jeans, black jacket and a pair of black lace-up pumps. I go back to the drawers and take out a gray t-shirt. I make the outfit as comfortable as possible but I try not to look through everything. I look at what I need to. I felt awkward having to do this. Especially due to the fact I barely know her.

I pull out a blue duffel bag from the bottom of the wardrobe and neatly put the clothes into it. As soon as I'm done I leave the room, leaving the bag open on the bed. Again I walk down the hall push open the next door. It's the bathroom this time, so I walk in.

It's simple but suitable for two people. Shower, sink and toilet. I grab basic toiletries and I'm able to tell the difference between them easily as they are in labelled tubs. I quickly put Cameron's toiletries in a bag and return to her bedroom and put them in the bag. I go back to the bathroom and grab Maya's stuff and go down the hall again.

I push open the next door on my right but it's a hot-press so I open the only remaining door and enter.

Maya's room was not what I was expecting. It was neat and tidy as I expected but there wasn't as many sports posters as I was thought there would be. Instead the walls were covered with posters of TV shows and musicians/bands; Criminal Minds, Heroes, Linkin Park, Daughtry... There are a few sports posters of Field Hockey and Running but not a lot.

The room is a decent size but slightly smaller than Cameron's. The space is used well with a single bed pushed into the corner. There's a chest of drawers below the window and then a wardrobe beside it. A desk was pushed to the far left corner and it was the messiest place in the room. It was covered in textbooks and pages. A laptop sat in the centre of it all and a copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird_ sat on top of it. A book case was beside the door and it was completely filled. It was so full that Maya had put books on top of each other in any free space. I also spot a few medical journals. Maya keeps getting more and more surprising. I also spot three cases in the corner. A violin shape, a keyboard shape and a guitar shape. All covered in dust.

I quickly open the chest of drawers and take out the same things I did for Cameron. I set them on the bed and then open the wardrobe. I quickly find a pair of black jeans and grab a purple hoodie. I take a pair of converse of the wardrobe floor and close it.

I then go back to the drawers and hunt for a t-shirt and sweatpants. There's a lot of sports gear and it takes me a while. I know Maya did a lot of running but this was ridiculous. Five minutes later I finally find what I'm looking for and put them on the bed. The only reason I looked for sweatpants in the first place was because I wasn't sure Maya could wear jeans after the surgery due to the scar tissue.

"Right…" I say to myself. "Meds…"

I scan the room and find what I think I'm looking for on top of the drawers. There is a tin box sitting on it so I open it. Inside are pill bottles neatly organised and grouped. The Ferrous Galfer and vitamins are together and the anti-sickness and triptans together. The Loratadine and spare eppi-pen are beside each other and then the anti-anxiety, anti-depressants and sleeping pills together.

"Awk Maya," I mumble as I take them all out. I lay them on the bed and look for a bag.

I find one in the wardrobe and lay it down. I quickly put them neatly in the bag and then do a quick scan to make sure I haven't missed anything. That's when I notice two books lying on the bedside table. I pick them up and smirk. The top one is an average teenage book. Something called _An Abundance of Katherines_. Underneath is a medical journal for traumatology. My smirk turns into a grin when it dawns on me. She wants to be a doctor. And from the looks of it Cameron doesn't know.

I take the books and put them in the bag too. She was going to be in the hospital for a while. She's going to need some entertainment. I zip up the bag, sling it loosely over my shoulder and return to Cameron's room. I grab her bag too and then quickly leave.

From the looks of it Cameron was doing a good job. Maya was an organised, smart and respectable kid. Cameron may have only had her for two years but she was doing good. Great even and I was proud.


	14. Chapter 14: STARS

**_Chapter 14:_** STARS

 ** _Deeken's POV_**

I pace Maya's room in the ICU. My head was pounding and the nausea was getting worse. My blood and lumbar puncture thing was being tested. But I couldn't worry about me. Maya was in surgery. Fighting for her life. I move to the chair and sit down again but I couldn't stay put. I start to pace again.

I look up at the sound of the door opening and see Dr Cuddy. She looks paler than she did earlier and her eyes were bloodshot. She was carrying a clipboard and was wearing her white coat. I feel her taking in my appearance; my sweatpants, t-shirt, hoodie and trainers. I'd gotten dressed quickly and the colours barely matched. My hood was pulled up and I was paler than usual.

"How is she?" I ask rubbing my head. The nausea was getting to an all time high and I desperately push it back.

"She's doing well. However, she'll be in there for a while," Dr Cuddy says but I barely hear her as the- room starts to spin. "Deeken are you okay?"

"Yeah," I mumble. "Just a bit dizzy and nauseous. I'm fine, don't worry about me. Worry about Maya."

"Sit down, I don't want you to faint," Dr Cuddy says

"I'm fine," I say but I sit down anyway, the nausea forcing me more than anything else.

"I actually came down here for a reason," She says. "Your test results came back. You are positive for Meningitis. If we start treatment now, your symptoms shouldn't get too bad. Now I'm just going to check your temperature and then get you set up in a room, okay?"

"Can I stay here?" I say quietly. "I don't mind if I have to stay in the chair and just attached to a drip."

"You really like her don't you?" Dr Cuddy smirks.

"What!? No," I say feeling myself going bright red. "I mean I like her but I don't _like_ her. What makes you think that?"

"No-one would spend time in that chair even if they were well unless they really cared about that person," Dr Cuddy laughs taking the thermometer off the wall. "You like her."

"Well of course I like her. She's my best-friend," I say.

"If you say so."

Three hours later I'm still in that chair. I'm attached to a drip and I have a blanket thrown loosely over me. My hoodie is on the back of the chair and my trainers on the floor. I felt like crap but Maya was due out of surgery soon. So I didn't care.

I look up at the sound of the door opening and Maya being wheeled in. She looks pale and is attached to endless amounts of medical equipment; drips, tubes, vital monitoring… Her heart beat is strong but she's attached to a ventilator. Oh gosh… She can't breathe.

Dr Chase walks in and looks straight at me. He gestures to me to come outside and talk to him so I quickly push on my shoes and pull my drip behind me. Dr Chase is still in his scrubs and he looks worried. I force myself to slouch slightly as I'm taller than him but that's not unusual. I'm 6 ft 1".

"Doctor Chase," I say. "How is she?"

"She's… she's not good," He stutters out. He looks worried. Crap.

"What happened during the surgery?"

"We gave Maya surgery to try and help her kidneys and liver. The sepsis caused internal bleeding which damaged her liver and kidneys. We managed to repair the damage and stop the bleeding but we ran into difficulties. Maya went into respiratory distress due to her right lung getting worse. It collapsed during the surgery but we managed to re-inflate it. There's still fluid being drained however and she needs the ventilator to breathe," Dr Chase says. "We've had to put her in a medically induced coma to let her body heal but as soon as her lungs show improvement we'll take her out of it. It'll be touch and go for a while but she will be okay. She should pull through."

I stare at him in shock. Coma!? I desperately try to stay calm. Maya's in a coma. My Maya.

"Does her Aunt know?"

"Doctor Cuddy is telling her now."

I nod and then something dawns on me. "Can she hear me if I talk to her?"

"There's a chance she can. I don't see a reason why you shouldn't try it," Dr Chase says.

"Okay," I nod.

With that Dr Chase taps me lightly on the arm and leaves. I walk back into ICU room and take the seat beside Maya's bed. I look at her with a mixture of concern and pride. Even connected to all these tubes she looks beautiful. Her hair had been loosely tied back to keep it off her face and she's pale. So pale. I sit there looking at her, desperately trying to find the words to say to her. I take a deep breath when the last nurse leaves.

"Hey Maya," I say quietly. I take her left hand gently between mine and rub small circles just below her thumb. "I don't really know what to say to you. Doctor Chase said it was worth a shot talking to you so I'm going to try that…"

I pause for a few seconds not knowing what to say. The only sounds that are in the room are the ventilator and the monitor that's checking her vitals. I close my eyes and sigh before continuing.

"I really don't know how to put my thoughts into words. I mean I can. Just not gracefully like you can. I… I need you Maya. I need you. Ever since you came into my life when I was ten I've needed you. When I first saw you falling into that river after trying to swing across it I was hooked. I was amazed that a girl your size could just pick yourself up and try again. You were adorable," I chuckle.

"The thing is Maya… the thing is, I love you. And I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know that. But if even just a small part of you can… Please, get better. Speedy, I'm begging you. Please get better. I don't know what I would do without you. You brighten my day. You make me laugh when I don't want to. You're silly but smart. You're athletic. You're quiet but so confident. I don't know what I would do without you. I don't want to think about, let alone know a world without you. Because a world without you would be dark. Pitch black darkness. I need you to get better please. I need you…"

I pause briefly as tears stream down my face. I carry on rubbing circles on Maya's hand and look at her pale face. Come on, Maya. Come on. Please be okay. I take a deep breath and carry on.

"I can remember when you were in hospital after your accident and you had this obsession with stars. Even when you didn't speak you just kept drawing them. They were beautiful. Some were full of colour. All the colours of the rainbow. Some were black but still equally magnificent and breathtaking. You never explained them even when you did talk but I think I understand what they meant…"

"You saw your parents as stars. I'm not sure how that came about but I know now that's how you saw them after the accident. I didn't understand that then but I do know. I think you thought their stars went out when they died and I'm not sure if that's true or not because I see them in you. Almost every day. But I do know this. You are my star Maya. You're my star in this world. So please get better. Please. Please don't go out. I need you. I love you. You're my bright star and always will be. Please… get better. Please…"

I finally let my emotions get the better of me. I let out a small sob and rest my head on her bed. Gosh Maya. Please get better. Please. I love you. I love you.


	15. Chapter 15: ACCIDENT

**_Chapter 15:_** ACCIDENT

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

 ** _Flashback, January 27th 2005_**

I sit in the diagnostics room as we run through possible diagnoses for our new patient. It was late but I was glad I'd managed to see all of Maya's concert. Her solo was amazing and I was slightly disappointed I hadn't been able to congratulate her.

Hours tick by as we run tests and start treatments. The patient has already flat lined once and we had no idea what was going on. We were all getting tired. It was one in the morning and we weren't going home anytime soon.

Around two I finally manage to get a break. I find a quiet area of the hospital and sit silently with my coffee. My head was pounding and I wasn't getting home to bed anytime soon. I sigh, closing my eyes and try to rub the tension out of my head.

"Doctor Cameron?"

I jerk my head up at the sound of my name to see a brunette doctor standing in front of me. She's tall and skinny and is wearing a set of green scrubs and trainers. She looks tired but there is also something in her eyes. Something that says she has bad news.

"That's me," I say standing up. "And you are?"

"Doctor Lambert. I'm one of the hospital's main traumatologists. Would you mind coming with me?" She says.

"Go where?"

"To the emergency room. Well, the surgery to be more precise."

"Why?" I push. Something was wrong. Desperately wrong.

"I'll tell you when we get down there," She says. "I promise."

I nod and follow her to the ER. It's busy. Busier than usual. It was chaos. Something had happened tonight. Something awful.

"What's going on?" I ask sternly.

"Cameron, can you come with me please?"

It was Cuddy. I turn around on my heels and follow Cuddy into her office. Her face looked sad and I start to panic. Something has happened. Something terrible.

"Cuddy what's going on?"

"Cameron I need you to sit down," She says.

"What's going on?" I say again refusing to sit down.

"There was a road accident earlier this evening. Three cars were involved and there were several casualties…" She begins. "There were some people who you knew were involved…"

"Cuddy, where are you going with this?"

"On file it says you're the person we need to contact if anything happens to Aaron, Lucia and Maya Cameron," She says and my heart drops. _No_... "Allison I'm so sorry to tell you that they were part of that crash. The three were involved in the accident and their car ended up being worst off..."

"No, no, no… no…" I whisper. My legs felt weak and I desperately hold in tears.

"When their car was hit Aaron was killed on impact," She pushes on. "Lucia made it into the ambulance but died on route. Maya on the other hand… She's still alive.…"

"Where is she?" I stutter out.

"She's in surgery. She's in critical condition. Trauma level five. She has a head injury, two shards of glass in her torso and a collapsed left lung along with a few broken ribs," Cuddy says. "I'm so sorry."

I stare at her blankly, the room spinning. My world was collapsing. Lucia and Aaron were dead and now I was Maya's legal guardian. Panic courses through me. Grief courses through me. My brother and sister-in-law were dead.

I let out a sob and desperately try to stay calm but I can't. They were dead and Maya was now fighting for her life. I bring my hands up to my face and cry harder. I feel Cuddy pull me into a hug to try and calm me down but it was useless.

They were dead.

They were dead.


	16. Chapter 16: TENSION

**_Chapter 16:_** TENSION

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Present day_**

 ** _Several days later after the coma_**

I come round slowly to a throbbing headache. Everywhere hurts; my torso, chest and throat in particular. I could feel myself choking on something and I desperately try to stay calm.

"Maya? Can you hear me?"

It was Cuddy. I slowly open my eyes and squint at the light. I try to open my mouth to respond but I can't and I feel myself panic.

"Maya you have a breathing tube in. Don't try to talk," She says. "Blink if you understand."

I blink once and she smiles. I look to the left and see Deekes. A wave of calmness washes over me but it quickly goes away when my lungs try to pull in air again. I choke again and I close my eyes.

"I need you to stay calm Maya," Cuddy says. "The choking is normal. Your lungs are working by themselves again so you no longer need the tube. We're going to take it out now so I need you to stay calm. You're going to gag a bit but I need you to cough as I pull it out. Blink if you understand."

I give her a large blink and I watch as she grabs the tube. I cough as she pulls it out and try to stay calm. I gag slightly and feel the tightness start to go away. It feels weird as it comes out and I close my eyes. When it comes free I heave in breath. Breathing comes hard and painfully and I start to wheeze.

"Easy Maya. You've been on the ventilator for several days now. Breathing is going to be sore. Your throat is raw," Cuddy says as she puts an oxygen mask over my face.

I breathe it in gratefully and turn my head to look at Deekes. He smiles and takes my left hand in his. He squeezes it lightly and smiles.

"You're going to be okay, Speedy," He says quietly.

I smile weakly at him and make a move to take the oxygen mask away to take but I feel his other hand grab my moving arm.

"No Maya, you need to rest," He says.

"Aunt Ali…" I say weakly through the mask.

"I'm here," I hear her say.

I look to the right and see her sitting down behind Cuddy. She looks pale and tired. How did I miss her there?

"I didn't see…"

"I know. That's just the morphine sweetheart," She smiles. "You're going to be a bit fuzzy. Don't worry."

I nod but I could feel myself start to drift off. My eyes becoming heavier.

"Tired…" I whisper.

"I know," Aunt Ali says. I could still feel Deekes' hand on mine rubbing circles just below my thumb. "Go to sleep sweetheart. It's okay."

I don't even nod a response to her I just let my eyes drift close. My breathing calms and I fall into an uneasy sleep.

The next few times I wake up are similar to the first. The morphine and antibiotics make me tired but I manage to stay awake slightly longer each time. Deekes is always there when I wake up. Sometimes asleep. Sometimes reading; wearing his adorable reading glasses. Always holding my hand.

I remember something about stars. I don't know why but I do. And when I look at him I feel a warmth and peace settle within me. I needed to talk to him when the meds I was on didn't make me so fuzzy. I needed to talk to him. I needed to tell him I loved him because I have a feeling he's already told me he loves me.

I come round slowly to the same pain in my torso, chest and head. I felt better though. Clearer.

I look to my right and see that Aunt Ali is gone. She's probably been forced to lie down by Cuddy. Deekes explained to me that Ali got meningitis too and so did he. However he didn't get it as badly as her. She got the muscle pain, vomiting, fever, stiff neck and headache. He got that without the vomiting. Well that's what he told me.

I turn my head to the left and see Deekes looking at me smirking. He's still holding my hand and his free hand is holding a book. He looks tired but he wasn't complaining. He never complains about things like that.

"Hey," I say quietly returning his smile.

"Hey," He smiles. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore but I'm better than I was," I say looking at our hands. "My head's clearer."

"Good."

We fall into an easy silence, both of us falling into our own thoughts. I stare at our hands desperately trying to get the guts to talk to him. To _tell_ him. Come on Maya. Come on.

"Stars," I say quietly almost inaudible despite our proximity.

"What?" He says, shock in his voice.

"Stars," I say louder looking up at him.

"You heard me," He says, his blue eyes filling with hope. "You heard."

"I remember you saying something about stars…" I carry on. "Something about going out… But I wasn't sure if it was the coma…"

"It wasn't the coma," He smiles. "It was me. It was me."

"Deekes there is something to tell you," I say quietly.

"Go ahead. You can tell me anything."

"I have feelings for you," I say quietly. "I'm not sure when they started to develop. I think it was in and around my accident. When you stuck by me. Helped through the therapy and rehabilitation and stuff… But I realised when I was lying here before the surgery that I needed to tell you… Deekes you mean the world to me. I'm forever thankful for you being here. For never leaving and I need you to understand that. I don't want to lose our friendship. That would tear my heart apart but… I love you. Deekes I love you."

I carry on looking at his blue eyes waiting for a reaction. I was scared. Please Deekes. Please respond.

Then his face lights up. He grins at me and sets the book down so he can hold my hand with both of his.

"I love you too, Maya," He says quietly. "I love you too."

I stare at him in shock and a smile spreads across my face. Deekes just said he loves me. Deekes loves me. We carry on staring at each other and every so often I glance at his lips. I want to kiss him and he obviously wanted to kiss me as he head was getting closer to mine. He stands up and cups my face with his right hand. Our lips are about to meet when the door opens.

Deekes jumps back and I look up to see its Cuddy. She has an amused look on her face and I feel myself going bright red. If she had walked in a few seconds later...

"Am I interrupting something?" She smirks.

"No, no!" Deekes says scratching his neck. Thank goodness he's speaking. I can't find words. "I'm just going to go and get some coffee. I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Bye Maya."

He taps my shoulder lightly and I feel energy course through me. That makes me blush more and it doesn't help that the heart rate monitor was going faster than it was supposed to. Deekes gives Cuddy a weak smile and then pushes past her leaving me alone.

"Did I just walk in on an almost kiss?" She says walking over to me.

"No!" I say desperately trying to defend myself.

"Well your heart rate monitor says otherwise," She teases taking the thermometer of the wall.

"Okay! Okay… You did," I say embarrassed but I also know it's useless to lie.

"So you and Deekes then?" She smiles.

"I don't know. I really don't."


	17. Chapter 17: PANIC

**_Chapter 17:_** PANIC

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

Maya heals slowly. After a day her headache has eased but her torso, chest and side pain are still bad. However, that's not surprising. She did have major surgery, a collapsed lung and a tube put in to drain fluid in that lung. But she didn't complain.

I think Deeken has something to do with that. The two have been practically impossible to separate since she woke up. Something was going between the pair and there was a tension between them. Every so often they would glance at each other and she would blush. Something was definitely going on.

Elliot is still here yet he still needs to see Maya when she's awake. Every time he's came to see her she's been asleep or completely out of it due to a medication change. He kept saying it was by accident but I didn't believe him.

I stayed with Maya any chance I got. I finally get released when they are certain I'm not at risk from sepsis and I'm given a course of antibiotics. So here I am sitting beside her bed only moving for coffee, food and to wash.

I sit silently watching Maya read her book. Her eyes scan the pages quickly and she turns them every forty seconds. She was still in the ICU but she would be getting moved later today into another room. It was Tuesday so we still had the anniversary coming up. I think the only reason she's sleeping is the meds she's on and that Cuddy has been making her take the sleeping tablets. This all started on Monday. We had been here for over a week.

We both look up at the sound of the door opening and see Elliot walk in. He's carrying a teddy bear, two cups of coffee and a bottle of water. He hands me a coffee and I smile at him thankfully. I watch as Maya put down the book. I could see in her eyes that she was debating whether or not to seem out of it due to the meds.

"Hi Uncle Elliot," She says with a small smile.

"Hi little duck," He says.

I watch as pain floods her eyes and she clutches the sheets with her right hand were Elliot can't see. Her dad used to call her that. Elliot you idiot.

"How are you feeling?" He continues as if he did nothing wrong.

"I'm better than I was," She says. "How are you?"

"I'm good. I just want my little duck to get better."

Her eyes fill with pain and she looks down before replying. "Please don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"You know why," She says weakly.

"Come on. It's just a nickname," He smiles but Maya was having none of it.

"No, it's not," She says calmly.

"What brought all this on?" He asks. "You were fine when I visited you before."

"I was unconscious or high on medication then," She says bluntly. At least she had the guts to say it but I can see her starting to get hyped up. Maya please stay calm.

"What's put you in this mood?" Elliot asks naively.

"What do you think?" Maya says sarcastically gesturing to the room and rubbing her head slightly. Please stop before you lose progress Maya. Please.

"What's that tone for? It was just a question," Elliot says starting to lose his calm.

"Well I wouldn't need to use that tone if you were better at picking up on signals!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" He shots back. For goodness sake he's arguing with a seventeen year old. A seventeen year old who probably has a higher maturity level than him.

"Please guys, now is not the time for arguing," I cut in desperately trying to defuse the situation.

"She needs to answer the question first," Elliot says stubbornly. Oh gosh.

"You know the answer," Maya shots back. She's rubbing her head again. Please don't lose progress.

"I don't!"

"You're never there to learn the signals let alone pick them up!" Maya says her voice rising. Her heart rate monitor was now beeping slightly faster. Crap.

"Maya I need you to -" I begin.

"Excuse me!?" Elliot says cutting me off.

"You heard me Elliot. You're never there. You show up for Birthdays and Christmas' and then the odd time when I'm sick. You still treat me like a child. You still treat me like I'm the same person I was before the accident. You're a fully grown man and you're unable to pick up that your niece needs an adult presence in her life not a silly one. You weren't even there!" Maya says. Her voice was still rising and the heart rate was still increasing.

"I wasn't there because I was busy. You know that," He says in defence.

"Aunt Ali wasn't busy and she works for one of the top diagnosticians in the state," Maya retorts back.

"You have no right to say these things," Elliot shots back his anger showing. Maya calm down. You're hitting the bee's nest.

"Why not? I've only been hiding them for two years," She shots back. "You would know about them if you had been there. Actually they wouldn't be there if you were present!"

"What gives you the right to call me out on that!?" He was now just below shouting volume and it was obviously hurting Maya as she winces. "You weren't exactly present then either!"

Anger surges through me at his words. Oh my gosh Elliot you moron. You have no right.

"Excuse me!?" Maya and I say in unison. I could hear Maya's heart rate monitor get faster.

"Don't try and protect her Allison. She was just as 'absent' as I was. She didn't talk for three months after the accident!"

"She was a traumatised fifteen year old!" I exclaim.

"Traumatised? She was in a car accident!"

"Where she watched her parents die!"

"Which she can't remember if you ask her!" Elliot shots back. "Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"Maya is allowed to keep some things to herself! She will talk when she's ready."

"It's been two years. I don't think she'll ever talk unless we make her!"

"Please… stop."

It was Maya. The heart rate monitor was still beeping like crazy and from the looks of it she was struggling to breathe. Tears streaked her face.

"You want me to stop!? Typical! Anytime you face things you don't like…" Elliot begins.

"Elliot stop!" I say sternly.

"No! She needs to hear this," He says ignoring me he then turns to her. "It's time to realise it's your fault your parent's are dead. You had the concert Maya. If you hadn't had been so perfect they'd..."

"Stop! Please!" Maya cries.

"Why should I!? You need to hear this!"

"Get out!" I yell.

He looks at me in surprise and says, "Allison, come on, now…"

"Get out!" I say again. I look up as a nurse walks in worriedly.

"Fine," He says. "Be like that. If you don't want to face the truth I'm done. Goodbye Allison."

And with that he leaves. I don't even say anything. The anger I have towards him was seething and I was furious. But I was more concerned about Maya.

She was sobbing quietly and desperately trying to get in breath. Her lungs were still weak and I wasn't surprised she was having issues. The heart rate monitor was now beeping to show us her pulse was in the range of the around 160/170.

Crap. She can't have one of these now. She can't have a panic attack now. Not after all this time and certainly not in this condition.


	18. Chapter 18: GUILT

**_Chapter 18:_** GUILT

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I desperately try to suck in breath. Panic and fear courses through me but I can't calm down. It was my fault. It was my fault.

I hear Aunt Ali calling for someone to page Cuddy and then someone grabs my hands as they were covering my face as I sob. I let them take them away and look up to see Aunt Ali. I try to focus but I can't. My breathing doesn't come easily and I'm starting to feel lightheaded. But I can't calm down. I can't.

"Maya, sweetheart, I need you to concentrate on my voice," She says but I can't look at her. "Maya come on. You've got to focus."

But I can't. I haven't had a panic in six months but this one felt different. More serious.

"I can't," I sob.

"Yes you can. You've done it before," She says putting my face in her hands. She's desperate.

"It's my fault," I whimper.

"It's not your fault."

"It is."

Before Aunt Ali can respond Cuddy walks in closely followed by Deekes. Deekes looked concerned and he automatically comes over to me. He's seen me have three panic attacks in the past and has calmed me down each time.

"Maya what's wrong?" He says taking my hands.

"It's my fault. They're dead because of me," I sob.

"No, no," He says. "It has never been your fault."

"But if I never had that concert…" I wheeze out.

"That concert was not planned by you. That concert happens every year. You were just a violinist in it."

"What would have happened if I'd never played the violin?" I whisper.

"Don't think like that. What age were you when you started playing it? Like four?" He says.

"But they're still dead," I sob.

"People die, Maya," He says moving his hands to my face. Ali had moved away to talk to Cuddy. "They would have died at some point. Even if that accident hadn't have happened they would have died. People live and people die and the circle of life is nobody's fault. Please Maya, don't blame yourself."

"I miss them so much," I whisper. I could feel myself start to calm down. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault.

"I know, I know," He says pulling me into a hug gently.

I rest my head in the crook of his neck and cry quietly. I cling to him and let it out. I'm not sure how long it takes me to calm down but Deekes stays. He rubs my back to calm me down and when I finally stop I carry on clinging to him. I was shaking and still desperately trying to breath. Silent tears were still rolling down my cheeks but the sobs were gone.

I turn my head slightly to look at him and our eyes meet. My eyes flicker down to his lips and then back to his eyes. The tension was back. I look away embarrassed and let go of him. This was not the place or the time. This room had Aunt Ali, Cuddy and several nurses in it. Not now.

I look up as Cuddy comes to side of the bed and Deekes moves out of the way. She's holding a stethoscope and quickly checks my lungs. I pull in breath awkwardly and she frowns. She then grabs an oxygen mask. I take it gratefully and she helps me put it on. I take in a few deep breaths and close my eyes. I could still feel tears rolling down my cheeks and I open them again. Aunt Ali is watching me with sad eyes and all I can do is look at her.

"The panic attack and crying put a lot of pressure on your healing lungs," Cuddy says grabbing some tissues. "However I don't think any further damage has been done to your lungs. About half an hour on the mask and you should be breathing easily again."

I nod and smile at her as she hands me the tissues. I quickly wipe my eyes and then pull the mask up briefly to wipe my nose. I look up apologetically at Deekes as there is now a wet patch on his grey t-shirt but all he does is smile at me. I felt tired and weak but that's not surprising. I always did after a panic attack.

"So, what caused the attack?" Cuddy asks quietly. I see Aunt Ali tense.

"I had an argument with Elliot. He said some things that made me panic. I just felt this suffocating fear and I couldn't calm down. I couldn't get it go away. I…" I say trailing off as I feel that same panic coming at me again but I calm myself down relatively quickly. Not again.

"Make sure Mr Cameron doesn't return," Cuddy says to one of the nurses.

"You won't have to be worried about that," Aunt Ali says surely as I lie down. I was tired and the barely breathing thing was making me dizzy. "He seemed pretty sure that he wouldn't be returning."

Cuddy nods and then turns to me. My eyes were practically closed and she didn't bother asking me more. I drift into a light sleep the last thing I hear being…

"Sleep Maya, Sleep." From Aunt Ali.


	19. Chapter 19: WAKE UP

**_Chapter 19:_** WAKE UP

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Flashback 2nd of February 2005_**

I come round slowly to the sound of beeping. Everywhere hurt and I felt groggy and weak. Where am I? Where am I? I go to sit up but pain hits me hard and I let out a moan.

Then it hits me like a tonne of bricks.

There was an accident. After the concert. My parents. Are they…?

The monitor starts to beep faster and my breath comes in gasps. No, no, no.

I hear movement beside me and a hand on mine. I turn my head weakly and find its Aunt Ali. She looks exhausted, pale and sad. Where are mum and dad?

"Maya I need you to calm down please," She says.

"Where…? What…?" I rasp out. The words don't come easily and I can barely find the strength to talk.

"Maya, I'll l tell you when you're calmer. Please try to relax," She says desperately then turns around and yells, "I need a nurse in here!"

But I already had a feeling something awful had happened. Breathing becomes harder and my heart rate gets faster. I hear a nurse come rushing in followed by what looks like a doctor.

"She just woke up. I tried to calm her down…" Aunt Ali says trailing off.

"Right we're going to have to sedate her. She's putting too much strain on her injuries," The doctor says taking a syringe off the side table.

I watch as she injects it into my IV and I instantly start to feel the effects. My eye lids become heavy and in seconds I'm unconscious.

**********************************************************************************The next time I wake up its dark outside. The room glows softly from a lamp and I can see Aunt Ali sleeping beside the bed. I felt calmer this time despite the information I think must be true. I didn't want to talk. I didn't see the point. I didn't see the point in talking if the people I wanted to talk to weren't even here.

I turn my head slightly so I can see outside the room but it causes more pain to shot through my head. I let out a whimper which causes Aunt Ali stir and consequently waken. She looks at me with concern and bolts up in her seat.

"Maya?" She says. "Are you okay?"

I don't respond but instead just look at her. I didn't want to talk.

"Do you know where you are?" She asks.

I nod but still don't talk.

"Do you know why you're here?"

In response I turn my head away so I don't have to look at her.

"You were in an accident Maya, do you remember that?"

I nod still looking away.

"You were badly hurt. You were in a coma for five days. In the accident two shards of glass impaled your torso one of which impaled your spleen. It caused the surgeons to need to remove eighty per cent of your spleen. That resulted in you now having Asplenia an immunodeficiency. Your left lung also collapsed and you got several broken ribs. You also got a minor head injury," She pushes on. "You're in a bad state Maya. You're going to be here for a while."

I carry on staring at the wall to avoid looking at her. I knew what was coming.

"Maya, I need to tell you something but I need you to look at me," She says. I unwillingly turn my head and look at her. "You were lucky. You survived the crash and help got to you on time but… but… Aaron and Lucia didn't make it. Aaron was dead on site and Lucia died in the ambulance. I'm so sorry Maya. I'm so sorry Maya but your parents are dead."

I stare at her trying to stay calm. I didn't want to talk and I'm not sure when I would want to again. Tears roll down my checks and I cry quietly. My parents were dead and I was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

"A few years ago I signed an agreement to say that I would become your legal guardian if something were to happen to Aaron and Lucia. When you get out of hospital you'll be coming to live with me," Aunt Ali says quietly. Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks and I instinctively reach out carefully and take her hand trying to comfort her. "It may not seem like it now but things are going to be alright Maya. Things are going to be alright."

But I didn't believe her. However I remained silent. I didn't want to talk. So instead I lay there silently, sinking into my pain and grief.


	20. Chapter 20: TRUTH

**_Chapter 20:_** TRUTH

 ** _WARNING: DESCRIPTION OF CAR ACCIDENT_**

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

 ** _Present Day_**

I sit silently in the chair beside Maya's bed. Maya was sound asleep and I watch as her chest rises and falls in an even pattern. She's been asleep for a few hours but I didn't want to move too much. She was an extremely light sleeper. A rare occurrence in the Cameron family. She shifts slightly and lefts out a small whimper. Her new scars were hurting her. I knew they were.

I watch as her eyes slowly flicker open and she turns her head to look at me. She looks pale but not as pale as when she came out of surgery.

"Hey," She says sleepily.

"Hey," I smile sitting up slightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than earlier," Maya smiles pushing herself into a sitting position. She only does it with slight difficulty but it was difficult all the same.

"Good," I smile.

"Look, I need to talk to you about something. Something I should have told you about two years ago," She says adjusting herself to a comfortable position.

"Of course. What it is it?" I reply but I have a feeling to what it is already.

"I always told you I couldn't remember what happened that night or that I didn't remember much from that night," She says quietly. "That wasn't truthful. I…I remember a lot from that night."

"Maya…"

"I want to tell you what happened."

"Maya, you don't have to. I know that night still hurts you. I know it hurts you a great deal," I say.

"I want to tell you," She says quietly. "I need to tell you. I've been holding it in for too long and I think you have a right to know what happened that night."

"Okay," I say. I knew she had to do this. I knew this was something I needed to hear too.

"We were going home from the concert. I had put my earphones in because I was tired and I was close to falling asleep. There was suddenly a change of light to my left and it was a truck coming towards us at full speed. I yelled at dad to watch out and he swerved out of the way just in time. We spun out of control for a few seconds before stopping. He turned around to ask me if I was okay. He was about to call me little duck when…"

She clutches the bed sheets slightly and looks away composing herself. Gosh… What on earth happened in that car?

"Suddenly there was a loud bang and the car went into a tail spin. There was a pain in my torso and… and… I remember there being so much glass. It flew around the car and when it finally stopped my head whacked off the seat. But before I could… before I could say anything there was another loud bang and the car spun again. While in the spin I saw dad. I saw… I saw him sitting there lifeless with a g-glass shard sticking out of his neck."

She stops again and tears silently roll down her cheeks. I take her right hand and rub small circles on it. A minute or so later she carries on.

"More glass flew around the car and I felt pain all over my torso. Then I saw mom. She was still breathing but she wasn't moving. I could see her hand on top of dad's on the gear stick… I tried to get to her but it hurt too much. The pain… The pain made me pass out," She says quietly.

"Awk Maya," I say quietly. "I had no idea."

"When the paramedics got me out and as I was being wheeled out I came round. It was only for a few seconds but I saw the night sky. Full of stars. And I thought if that was the last thing I saw I would be happy. But it wasn't. I survived and they didn't. I still have guilt about that but… but… I want to live for them. And that's what I'm going to do," She says. She then takes a deep breath before continuing because she was still on the nasal cannula. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner…"

"Maya don't apologize," I say. I was still in shock. I knew that night had been bad but not bad. However I now knew where the star expression came from now. "That night was traumatic for many people. It's okay if you didn't tell me straight away because I only wanted you to tell me, to open up, if you were ready. I'm fine with you taking two years. I'm just glad you finally told me."

She nods and shifts slightly. She then wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. She takes a few deep breaths before looking at me.

"I also have something else to tell you," She says quietly. "Something good."

"What is it?" I smile.

"You've been asking a lot recently what I want to do when I leave school…" She says. "I've been talking to the school guidance counsellor about it. I was going to tell you about it last week but with the whole fainting, fever, vomiting, spasm, seizure, sepsis thing that didn't really happen."

"Is that the technical term? Fainting, fever, vomiting, spasm, sepsis thing?" I smile. She laughs slightly but stops quickly, wincing. "Sorry, going off topic. What was your decision?"

"Doctor. I want to be a doctor," She says.

I was not expecting that. But it was way better than what I was expecting.

"Wow. Maya that's amazing. What type of doctor? I'm sure I can get Cuddy to help with getting an internship with diagnostics…" I say excitedly but she puts a hand up to silence me, wincing. "Sorry, got a bit excited."

"I don't want to go into diagnostics. No offence," She says quietly.

"What do you want to do then?"

"I want to be a traumatologist, or a trauma surgeon. Some form of Emergency Medicine specialist. I want to help people, try to fix them. Like Doctor Lambert helped me."

I stare at her in shock and try to find words. I wasn't expecting that. Suddenly something dawns on me. The medical journals…

"That's what all the medical journals are for… I should have known," I chuckle.

She smirks and then lies back against the pillows slightly. Her head was dropping slightly. I wasn't surprised she was tired. She was still on painkillers and antibiotics; some of which the side effects included drowsiness.

"Sleep," I say. "Maya sleep."

I watch as she drifts off into an easy sleep and her breathing deepens. She wanted to be a doctor. Gosh… she wanted to be a doctor. I smile to myself. I was proud of her. So proud. And I knew her parents would have been too.


	21. Chapter 21: ABOUT TIME

**_Chapter 21:_** ABOUT TIME

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I silently pull on the clothes Cuddy had brought with her from Aunt Ali and I's apartment wincing. I was sore from the new scar on my torso and side but I was going home today. I was going home.

It was now Saturday morning and I was glad to be going home. I was bored and I'd finished the books Cuddy had grabbed from my room quickly. I was brought out of the ICU on Thursday and then kept a further two days for monitoring purposes. I would also be staying off school for about two weeks at least to allow my immune system to readjust and for my scars to heal. Aunt Ali and I didn't talk about the anniversary and thankfully neither did Cuddy or Deekes.

I turn round at the sound of knocking and finish pulling on my black t-shirt. I already had on a pair of grey sweatpants which I'm glad Cuddy had grabbed. I was too sore for jeans. I had to wear a belt with everything and it would have dug into my scars too much.

"Come in," I say sitting down on the bed.

I look up to see Deekes walk in and I smile at him. We still haven't kissed and the tension between us was getting almost unbearable. I'm not even sure we should kiss as we've been stopped or interrupted twice already.

"Hey," I smile pulling on my shoes.

"Hey," He smiles back. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better," I say tying my laces. "Glad to be getting out. I'm starting to get cabin fever."

"I wouldn't be surprised," He smirks. "I haven't seen you sit still for longer than ten minutes in seven years."

"You know me; all go," I laugh quietly.

He chuckles slightly before continuing. "I have school work for you in my car from all your teachers. They said they'll give it to me regularly while your off too so you don't fall behind."

"Ah it never ends," I groan standing up.

"Well you're the one that takes all AP subjects," He says as I start to put my belongings in my bag. "It is kind of your fault."

"I suppose if you put it that way… Anyhow did you speak to the track coach about why I didn't make it to the regionals?"

"Yes and you'll be glad to hear regionals have been pushed back so you didn't miss them," He smiles.

"Pushed back!?" I say in shock.

"The coach found out you were sick and talked to the athletics board. The competition had already been set back due to weather issues but they said they would push it back further. Like into mid slash late March so you could compete but only on the condition that you start training as soon as your stitches are secure," He grins.

"Yes… Of course!" I exclaim happily. "How did he pull that one off?"

"The board knows that you are a senior and this would be your last competition at school. They also know the rough story of how you got into track and field in the first place."

"I don't know what to say…"

"Your special Maya," Deekes smiles. "And the board realised that too."

In response I hug him. I'm a fair bit smaller than him and my head just about reaches past his shoulder. He returns the hug gently and rests his head on mine. We stay like that for few seconds and then I look up.

I instantly catch his eyes and I automatically feel the tension return. My eyes flicker to his lips and I swallow slightly.

"Deekes…" I whisper, my breathing picking up.

"We're alone now…" He replies. Our faces were millimetres apart and I was finding it hard to concentrate.

"Deekes…"

He silently responds by bending down so our lips were closer. Hesitantly he presses his lips softly to mine and I close my eyes. It was a small chaste kiss but when we pull apart we still cling to each other. I lean in again and the kissing gets rougher. We'd been waiting for days for this. Scrap that. We'd been waiting seven years. _Finally_.

We kiss again and I'm not sure how long we do but we only pull back when we need air. Our lips are still touching slightly and I can feel each breath he takes on my skin. I smile and put my arms around his neck.

"About time," I sigh.

"Yeah… It only took us, what… seven years?" He chuckles. "I have something to ask you."

"What?" I smile, playing with the hairs at the bottom of his neck.

"Maya will you go out with me?" He whispers pushing my hair out of my face. I lean against his hand in response.

"I think we've already skipped that step but yes… I'll go out with you."

We kiss again but we don't get very far as we hear the door opening and someone coughing in an over exaggerated way. We jump apart and I feel my face go bright red. I look up and see Aunt Ali in the doorway. She has an amused look on her face and I feel myself going a deeper shade of red.

"Am I interrupting something?" She asks.

"No! No! It was nothing!" I reply. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I'm so embarrassed.

"It didn't look like nothing…"

I turn my head so I don't have to look at her and I could hear Deekes try to turn to calm his breathing.

"Maya and I are… um… we're…" He begins.

"A couple?" Ali finishes.

"How did you know? We only just…" I stutter out.

"I just walked in on you two practically making out. If you two aren't a couple…"

"Oh my gosh," I whimper.

"I'm fine with it," She smiles.

"You are!?" Deekes and I say in unison.

"As long as you two are safe and follow the rules I don't see a problem."

"Thank you!" I smile.

"But I will say one thing…"

"What?"

"It's about time."


	22. Chapter 22: RECOVERY

**_Chapter 22:_** RECOVERY

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

I walk into the apartment at around 18:00. House had been letting me go home earlier from work after some 'gentle' persuasion from Cuddy. Maya was still off school and wouldn't be returning till next week. A week and two days had gone by and Maya had healed well. She did school work but even then she sleeps a lot. Maya's still weak from the meds but she keeps on top of everything. Deeken drops by to give her school work and to keep her company but I make sure I'm there when he comes around. I don't think they've went further than kissing but I wasn't taking any chances.

As soon as I put down my bag and take off my coat I make my way to Maya's room. I knock but get no reply so I walk in. I find her lying on her bed fast asleep with an AP Biology textbook across her chest and a notepad to her right. She looks peaceful but she needed to get something to eat.

"Maya, I'm home. Time to get up sweetheart," I say grabbing her arm gently. She stirs and wakes up fairly quickly.

"Hey," She says sleepily. "What time is it?"

"About six," I say sitting on the bed. "How have you been today? You were still asleep when I left."

"Alright. I did some Biology, History and Chemistry. I must have fallen asleep."

"That's just the meds," I smile. "Have you eaten today?"

"I had breakfast and a bit of toast at lunch. I felt nauseous earlier and I thought it was a migraine coming on but it didn't escalate," She mumbles rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. I watch as she closes the Biology textbook and notepad and then sits up a bit more.

"Why didn't you call me?" I say.

"I would have called you if it had come on properly."

"Okay," I sigh. I know she would have called me but I would have liked to have had known. "Come on. There's some pasta in the fridge. I'll heat it up."

Maya nods and swings her legs over the bed.

"Actually I was thinking today…" She begins.

"About what?" I push.

"The doctor said on Saturday I can run again without pulling my stitches. I was wandering if I could start today," She says.

"Are you sure you're ready? You're still sore and on pain meds," I question.

"It's not really about being ready it's more about reversibility."

"Reversibility?"

"Sorry athlete terms," She says. "Uh… When you stop training for any reason, injury, illness, it doesn't matter, you risk the chance of reversibility. Reversibility is when the progress you've made through training is lost because you stopped. Progress is lost three times faster than made. So because I haven't trained in three weeks it'll take me nine weeks to get that progress back."

"Maya, if that's your only reason…"

"It's not," She says standing up. She grabs the notepad and textbook and walks over to her desk.

"Then what else?" I push watching her sort through pages.

"I feel trapped…"

"What do you mean… trapped?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Do you mean hard to explain or do you just not want to talk about it?" I push.

"Both."

"You know you can talk to me about anything right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then what's wrong?" I hated pushing her but I knew I had to this time.

"Running gives me an escape," She says quietly. "The steady rhythm of my feet hitting the ground. The pounding of my heart. The aching limbs and burning lungs. It allows me to focus. To process all the crap that's in my head. I'm able to deal with my emotions in a safe way. I used to do that through music and hockey but…"

She trails off and we fall into an awkward silence. I desperately try to come up with solution to let her run. I can't take away her only escape. That would be cruel. Then it dawns on me.

"You can run on one condition," I say.

"Okay, what? I'll do anything."

"For the first few times Deeken or I will run with you just to make sure you're okay or in case your stitches can't take it," I say. "I'm sure Deeken will be up for it due to your new relationship status…"

"Okay," She smiles. Maya had now turned to face me and I could see a slight blush over her cheeks from me mentioning Deeken. I withhold a laugh. "Now get over here and give me a hug."

She walks over and willingly gives me a hug. She was about my height which wasn't surprising. Most of the women in the Cameron family usually stopped growing at this height.

"Now let's go and get some food. We can sort out the run after," I say pulling back.

And with that we head into the kitchen.


	23. Chapter 23: OUT OF SIGHT

**_Chapter 23:_** OUT OF SIGHT

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Flashback March 5th 2005_**

I quietly sketch out stars onto the page. Deekes was beside me watching me with curiosity. I still hadn't spoken and I wasn't planning to. I was still in hospital but would be getting out this afternoon. They were unwilling to let me go but there was no real reason to keep me here. I was still healing but I wasn't in a life-threatening condition. They were more concerned about my mental state. Aunt Ali was away making the final arrangements of my belongings being sent to her apartment. They were to arrive before I got there.

I look up at the sound of someone entering the room. It's Doctor Lambert. Even though she is a trauma surgeon she's taken a specific interest in my case. I would have been thankful for it but I wasn't in a thankful mood. I hadn't been at all since I've woken up.

"Hello Maya, how are you feeling today?" She smiles.

I remain silent keeping my eyes on her as she grabs my chart.

"I'm going to check you and if it's an all clear you can go home," She continues. I can feel Deekes' hand find mine and begin to rub small circles.

The check-up goes quickly. My wounds are healing well. The issues with my lungs were gone. My breathing was fine. There was nothing they could keep me here over. So they give me the all clear.

I follow Aunt Ali into her apartment leaning heavily on my cane. I'm breathing heavily and I lean on the door frame for support. Aunt Ali looks at me with concern and I avoid eye contact.

"You okay?" She asks.

I nod but remain silent. That is the most communication I've given her since the accident. She gives me a surprised look before gesturing inside. I follow her despite the fact I know her apartment like the back of my hand. I spent a lot of time here. Now I would be spending all of my time here.

She leads me to the guest room and when we enter it's not as I remember it was the last time I was here. Yeah there was still the bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers and book shelf but now there was a desk in the corner and let's not forget the boxes and bags of different forms. It's all here. Even my violin. How...?

I walk over to it and run my fingers gently over the case. The words, _Ladies and gentleman thank you for coming to this year's annual winter fundraiser_ , echo in my head and I pull my hand back clenching my fist. No.

"They found it in the wreckage. It was perfectly intact," Aunt Ali says.

I carry on staring at it. Too bad I'm not planning on playing it again anytime soon.

"This will be your room. I know it's not as big as your old one but I think it'll suit you," She says. A silence falls over us and I don't intend on breaking it.

"I'll let you unpack," She says quietly, patting my right shoulder.

When she leaves I go as quickly as possible with my cane to the violin case. I open it and then run my fingers over the strings. But I can't bring myself to take it out of the case. So I snap it shut and close my eyes. No. I'm not playing violin. Not when they can't hear it.

The next thing I spot is my hockey stick. Without even thinking I grab it and bend down carefully. I then chuck it under the bed. I do the same for the violin and keyboard. No more contact sports. No more music.

I stare blankly at the guitar. I can't get it to fit under there so I quietly get up and as quietly as possible pick up the case. I leave the cane on the bed and then silently open the door. I go to the coat closet and open it. There's not a lot in there so I push it as far back as I can and position it so you can't see it.

I then return to the room and close the door. I sit down on the bed and withhold from letting out a pained whimper. Tears start to slide down my cheeks and I stare blankly into space. I'd hidden all I could but I couldn't hide myself. I didn't understand why they died and I lived. I shouldn't be here. I close my eyes and let the grief wash over me.

I needed to move on but I couldn't. I never think I will. Not ever.


	24. Chapter 24: HOW YOU REMIND ME

**_Chapter 24:_** HOW YOU REMIND ME

 ** _Deeken's POV_**

 ** _Present Day_**

I keep a steady rhythm beside Maya as we run. She was stronger now and I knew soon she'd return to out running me. We were nearing the end of the run and she was showing a lot more improvement from when we started. A minute or so we come to a stop outside the apartment. I stop the stopwatch.

"Twenty seconds faster than yesterday," I grin at her. She wasn't as out of breath as me so she would definitely be doing this by herself from now on.

"Still room for improvement though. Regionals are in a month," Maya says catching her breath.

"And I know you'll be ready for it," I smile as we enter the apartment complex. "Now I have something to give you before we go inside."

She watches me as I pull a small box out of my pocket. I open it to reveal a small bracelet which is covered in star charms. It's delicate like Maya but also bright and strong. I gently take her wrist and put the bracelet on her. She's looking at me in surprise.

"I was in the mall for something completely different. I think it was for a tie or something for a wedding I'm supposed to be going to. It's one of my mum's friends. But I saw this and I thought of you because your my little star," I say.

"Deekes…" She mumbles.

"I thought you could wear it for the race for luck. Our relationship is kinda based on stars so even after the race you'll have something to remind you of us even when I'm not there," I say.

"Thank you," She says. "I don't know what to say."

That's when Maya pulls me into a deep kiss that surprises me. I stumble forward pinning her to the wall behind her. Gosh I'm glad we're in a semi-hidden position. The kiss gets heated quickly with her gripping my t-shirt to keep me close and me restraining from going under her vest-top but instead I grab her waist. When we pull back we're gasping for breath but it doesn't last long as her lips find mine again. Gosh where did she learn how to kiss like this?

By the time we do stop we're breathing heavily and flushed. We had a habit of doing this. Going in for a simple kiss and then practically making out. Surprisingly we hadn't gone past second base but from the look in Maya's eyes she was having a bit of difficulty staying there.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" She asks quietly. "Aunt Ali is making lasagne tonight and she always has a habit of making too much. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Sure," I smile still trying to catch my breath.

And with that I follow her up to the apartment.

I sit in Maya's room beside her on her bed. The door was open as Allison's request. The rule was if Maya and I were in Maya's room alone the door stayed open so we wouldn't try anything. At the minute Maya was snuggled into me as we watched Corpse Bride on her laptop. It was one of Maya's favourite movies as well as The Nightmare before Christmas. I liked watching her watch these movies. The way her eyes lit up at the jokes and how she hummed along with the songs. It was a Friday night so I don't have to be home anytime soon.

I look down to see Maya dozing, her breathing slow and calm. I knew she was having difficulties sleeping so I have no intention in disturbing her. I look quietly around the room and my eyes fall on her instrumen ts. My mind drifts to the last time I heard her play them at the school concert. She was amazing and I missed her playing.

"What are you looking at?" Maya mumbles stirring. I look down to see her wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Just at your instruments," I say. I feel her stiffen. I kiss her hair comfortingly. "I know, I know. I understand why you don't play anymore. I was just thinking."

"I know, I know… It's just…" She mumbles. "It's stupid."

"Nothing you say will ever be stupid," I say.

"I miss playing them… I know why I can't play them but I miss it. They used to be such a big part of my life," She whispers looking at the violin specially.

"Why don't you play them then?"

"Deekes… I…"

"I know why you can't. But why does it have to be can't? I know for a fact your parents loved hearing you play. I don't think they would have wanted you to stop playing," I say.

"I know…"

"If you were to play again I think it would be for them," I finish.

"I know," She says getting up and walking to the violin case.

"What are you doing?" I ask swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

"Something I should have done all long time ago," She says setting the case on the bed and flicking it open.

I watch her take the violin carefully with slight hesitation. She runs her fingers over the reddish brown wood and checks the tuning. It was out of tune of course. She hadn't played it in two years but she quickly fixes it.

Maya was going to play the violin. She was actually going to do it.

"Maya, when we were talking about your instruments I wasn't forcing you to play them," I say.

"I know," She mumbles running her fingers over the wood and then puts the instrument under her chin. She was actually going to play it.

She holds the bow and violin hesitantly as she studies her fingers on the strings. She was unsure but that wasn't surprising. She hadn't played in two years. Gently she pulls the bow down on one of the strings and starts to play. I watch her play and hear the notes of How You Remind Me by Nickelback form. Maya's hesitant at first making some mistakes when she puts her fingers in the wrong place but after about a minute she plays confidently. Her eyes are lit up and a small smirk of concentration is on her face.

I look up to see Allison at the door looking at Maya in shock. I was pretty surprised myself. Maya had just played the violin for the first time in over two years but the way she was holding it made you believe no time had passed. She's dynamic and hits the notes.

When she stops Allison walks over and pulls her into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you," She whispers.

And so was I.

Maya was finally healing.


	25. Chapter 25: RUN

**_Chapter 25:_** RUN

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Flashback, Late March 2005_**

I hit the hockey balls in a steady rhythm into the goal. I was angry, so angry at the stupid choice I wasn't allowed to play hockey any more. My hitting gets harder and more aggressive as the pain boils up. The pain and anger over everything.

 _You were in an accident._

 _You were badly hurt._

 _Your parents are dead._

 _I love you little duck._

One of the balls hits the back of net particularly hard and I have to stop and calm down. My breathing was heavy. I let out a yell and close my eyes. It wasn't fair. It wasn't _fair_.

"I thought the doctor's said no more hockey."

I turn to see the school's coach behind me. I instantly back away slightly as I knew rightly I wasn't supposed to be here. I'd snuck in after hours. I didn't expect anyone to be here.

"I… I…" I stutter.

"Does your aunt know you're here?" He asks.

I shake my head.

"She's probably worried about you," He says.

"I… I needed to clear my head," I stutter again. I'd only started talking again a few weeks ago.

"And yelling and abusing that poor stick is doing that?"

"I didn't know where else to go," I say pathetically.

"Is it helping?"

I shake my head again.

"How about we make a deal," He says. "You were a forward right?"

"Yes coach."

"That means your fast. If you promise to stop sneaking in and to stop playing hockey as you might hurt yourself I'll find you something to replace it. Sound good?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Track meets are on Thursday. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow," He says. "Now let's get you home."

I nod and follow him off the pitch.

I sit on the bleachers beside Deekes in a pair of black running leggings, grey t-shirt, blue hoodie and blue trainers. My hair was tied tightly back and I wore a watch on my left wrist. I fidget with the zip on my hoodie and try to avoid eye contact with everyone. They knew who I was. They knew I was the orphan who had lost everything in a car accident.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

I nod. I may have been talking again but I only spoke when needed.

"Do you what section coach has put you in?" Deekes asks.

"No. He just told me to go to track," I say but before Deekes can respond coach is standing in front of me.

"You'll need these," He says handing me a pair of shoes.

"I already have trainers…" I say confused.

"They're spikes. I'm unsure what section I need to put you in. So today you're going to run what you can," He says. "I'm going to start you off with the one hundred metres, two hundred metres and four hundred metres. Then for middle try you on the fifteen hundred. I then want you to come back tomorrow for the long section. Sound good?"

I nod. Gosh that was a lot of distance.

"Now get the spikes on you have five minutes," He says and then leaves.

I quickly take off my trainers and then pull on the spikes tying them as tight as possible. I then take off my hoodie and shove it in my backpack but before I close it I take out my energy drink and water to make sure it's accessible.

"I'll see you when you're finished. I have endurance training. Good luck," Deekes says patting my shoulder.

"Thanks," I mumble.

I stand up and walk to the start line. The coach directs me to a lane and I get into the sprint position. _Just try your best_. Aunt Ali's words echo in my head. But I was nervous. This was my last chance to find a sport.

"On your mark! Get set!" The coach yells.

The whistle sounds and I quickly start. I feel the automatic strain on my muscles, the wind in my hair and the adrenalin coursing through my veins. Push, push, push…

I cross the finish line and run a few metres forward to slow down. I look behind me to realise that I'd finished first. Wait, that can't be right. They all cross the line with surprised looks.

"Miss Cameron! Where did you learn to run like that?" Coach says.

"I just ran sir," I say.

"You just ran!?" He says in shock. "You were one and a half seconds off beating the world record!"

"I was?"

"Run the two hundred," He says without replying to my question.

I do as I'm told and it results in him making me do the 400m and then the 1500m. By the time I'm finished I'm exhausted. I sit at the edge of the track gulping down water when the coach sits beside me.

"Miss Cameron when was the last time you trained?" He asks.

"Do you mean personal training or hockey training sir?"

"Both."

"Hockey it was the twenty-fifth of January. Personal yesterday but it's only jogging. The doctors said exercise would help with my depression and anxiety. They also said it would help my scars," I reply honestly.

"I'm going to be honest with you here Maya, I'm going to give it to you straight. In my ten years of coaching at this school I have never seen so much talent in one person. What you ran today most _professional_ athletes have to train for years to achieve and you did it with minimal training," He says.

"I just ran," I say shyly.

"And did you enjoy it?"

I think for a moment. When I was running I hadn't been thinking about my parents, about my aunt, about my uncle, about the accident… I had been thinking about the burning in my muscles, the cry out for air in my lungs, the wind in my hair, the adrenalin coursing through my veins…

For the first time since the accident I had felt free.

"I did."

"I could see it. You seemed like the person you were on that hockey pitch. Focused and unstoppable," The coach smiles. "Now head home. I'll see you tomorrow after school for the cross country meet to see how you fair in that aspect."

"Yes sir."

He pats me on the back and leaves.

I might actually belong here. I might actually belong.


	26. Chapter 26: RACE

**_Chapter 26:_** RACE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Present day_**

"Can all runners please come to the starting line? The race will be starting in five minutes!" A man's voice calls over the intercom.

"That's me," I smile finishing my stretches. Aunt Ali then pulls me into a hug.

"Good luck," She whispers.

"Thanks."

"Now focus. I don't want you to worry about tomorrow," She says. I groan.

"I'd just managed to get that out of my head," I whine.

"Sorry," She says sincerely. "Now go."

I nod and then walk over to the start line. There was quite a few people here for me. Of course Aunt Ali and Deekes were here, and then there was Cuddy, Foreman, Chase and Wilson. Everyone was here except House. I wasn't expecting it especially due to fact I hadn't been particularly nice to be around recently with my MCAT tomorrow. I was jittery when I was nervous with my anxiety escalating.

"Yo speedy!" Deekes yells from behind me. "Good luck!"

I smile at him and take my place. I put in one earphone and slip my I-pod into my armband as I start to run through my tactics. Steady rhythm right left right left, keep it in time with the music and your breathing. You always run best listening to music. Watch your steps. It was raining last night and left potholes and a lot of mud.

 _Focus. Focus. Focus._

I take a deep breath as the Official walks up to the side.

"On your mark! Get set!" He yells,

He fires the gun into the air.

I start running at my own speed.

 _I've got this._

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

I stand at the in the field with Cuddy, the team, Wilson and Deekes waiting for Maya to finish. Her personal best for this was the highest in her section and she bordered on Olympic level but I was unsure if she'd be able to pull that off today. However I knew she'd do well. She always did.

"So where does Maya usually place?" Chase asks.

"First," I smirk. "She hid that one well. Nobody knew she could run until she just did."

"What's her tactics?" Cuddy asks. "She's hung quite far back."

"She goes at her own speed. Most people tire quickly so she overtakes them easily. She then runs the last two hundred to three hundred metres flat out," I explain.

"That's smart," Cuddy smiles.

"She runs with her headphones in. When she runs she loses herself. She keeps the rhythm of her steps in time to the music. She usually runs to Punk or Heavy rock music."

"When will she be finished?"

"I give her ten minutes."

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I keep my rhythm steady and breathing calm. I was under two kilometres off finishing. Right left right left. Mud splashes the whole way up my legs and my thighs are scratched from having to run through a particularly heavily wooded area but I keep my eyes focused on the terrain and keep my rhythm.

The burning in my muscles and lungs keeps me going. Keeps me focused. Makes me forget. I start to push myself harder as the next song starts. Left right left right.

 _I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone._

I keep going. I was now in second place.

 _Push harder. Come on! Push!_

 _My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me. 'Til then I walk alone._

I push harder and harder until I overtake first place and then pass the 7km marker. I start to force that last burst of energy. Adrenalin course through my veins. Left right left right. Breathe in. Breathe out. I reach the 400m point.

Run Maya.

Sprint.

I cross the line and keep the pace going so I don't stop dead and hurt myself. I eventually come to halt and the coach falls in beside me. He hands me a bottle of water and I take it gratefully. I was breathing heavily and my muscles ached but I felt great.

"That's my girl!" He says giving me a hug. "First place! And do you want to know the best part is?"

"What?" I say breathing heavily. I open the bottle and take a swig.

"You beat your personal best by over a minute and a half!"

"I did what!?"

"You got twenty-five minutes and fifty seconds. They think it's the fastest time recorded on this course," He grins.

Before I can respond, I'm practically tackled by Deekes. He pulls me into a bear hug and spins me around. My breath had only just calmed slightly and it goes out in a whoosh.

"Deekes!" I rasp.

"That's my Speedy!" He exclaims.

"You two have two minutes before Dr Cameron comes over!" The coach says leaving.

The coach is barely gone before Deekes kisses me hard. I grin into the kiss and wrap my arms around his neck. He pulls back and I lean against him breathing heavily. Despite being slightly hidden this was one of the most public displays of affection he's ever shown.

"What was that for?" I breathe heavily.

"Just saying congratulations," He smiles.

"That was a congratulations?" I chuckle still catching my breath.

"It was also a sort of goodbye… When your Aunt gets a hold of you there's no hope I'm going to see you again till tomorrow night. When she comes over she's going to congratulate you, there will then be the awarding of medals and so on and then she will bring you home and help you study for your MCAT," He says.

"Of course the great MCAT," I say sarcastically. Inside I was freaking out. You are not going to fail them. You are not going to fail them.

My mind drifts to the last time I thought I failed them. What I'd did…

"You okay?" Deekes asks breaking through my thoughts.

"Uh yeah," I say. "Fine."

I smile as convincingly as I can at him. It doesn't work. Deekes pulls be tighter into his arms and I nuzzle into him.

"You're not going to let them down Maya," He whispers. "I promise you that they are so proud of you. Your parents would be so proud of you."

I hope they were. Gosh I hope they were.


	27. Chapter 27: NOT ALONE

**_Chapter 27:_** NOT ALONE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _TRIGGER WARNING: DEPRESSION, ATTEMPTED SUICIDE_**

 ** _Flashback June 2005_**

I lie on the hospital bed silently. I was weak and tired but I didn't want to be here, lying in this bed. It had been four maybe five hours since I'd had my stomach pumped. I was on a drip and my arms and legs were restrained. Being restrained was to stop me from hurting myself.

Too late.

Everywhere hurt especially breathing, my stomach and my head. The soft pounding of my head reminded me that I was alive. I look to my left out the window at the sun rise. I close my eyes. That wasn't a view I wanted to see.

I don't open my eyes when I hear someone walk in. I knew it was Ali. She had been the only one that I know who's come near me. Well aside from Doctor Lambert.

I'd been rushed into hospital as an emergency case. Aunt Ali had found me in the nick of time as the doctors had called it. She forced me to throw up my antidepressants and made me stay awake. Upon arrival at the hospital my stomach was pumped and I was given charcoal along with some other 'lovely' treatments.

They treated me despite me begging them not to.

Doctor Lambert was one of the attendings. The same person who had treated me in January. And she had looked so disappointed and sad. So had Aunt Ali.

"I know you're awake," Ali says pulling me from my thoughts. "We need to talk."

I remain silent.

"Oh and we're back to the not talking thing," Ali says annoyed. This is the first time she's shown any annoyance towards me.

"What do you want me to say?" I ask bitterly and opening my eyes. I look at her straight in the eye.

"I don't really know… How about why you did this?" She says bluntly.

"You know why," I say through gritted teeth.

"No I do not!" She exclaims.

"You don't know!?" I say my voice raising and struggling slightly against the restraints. "Have you been blind for the past six months!? I've lost everything. I lost hockey, I lost my spleen and I lost my innocence. I now have severe migraines, a procedure for when I get sick and a myriad of medications to treat anxiety, insomnia and clinical depression! But of course let's not forgot that I no longer have my parents. I should have gone with them! And to top it all off I failed my end of year exams which means retake in August or I get held back a year. So not only should I have went with my parents I've disappointed them!"

"Awk Maya…" Aunt Ali begins but I cut her off.

"Don't awk Maya me!" I cry. "You don't understand. I wake up to pain every morning. I can just about get into a car but when I do I'm swamped by anxiety. I'm always tired! Half the time I don't even want to get out of bed!"

"Maya I understand," She says quietly and in that moment I realise that she's in pain too. Tears start to roll down her cheeks.

"Aunt Ali…" I say reaching towards her. She pulls away.

"Maya for once don't try and comfort me!" She exclaims and I shrink back slightly. This is the first time she's let her anger out. "For once please look after yourself and get your own head straight before going to comfort me or anyone else. Please just try and get better."

I turn away from her knowing she was right but I wasn't going to admit to that. Tears stream down my face and I sniffle.

"Try and get some rest. I'll be back later," She says.

With that Aunt Ali leaves leaving me with my thoughts.

I lie staring at the ceiling listening to the sound of my breathing. I was alone as Ali was at work but the nurses had a clear view of me from their desk. I was being released tomorrow into the care of my aunt who was to give me constant supervision until they were certain I wasn't going to try anything again. No locked doors. No time myself.

I sit up when someone walks into the room. But I'm surprised when it's not Ali. It's Doctor Lambert.

"How are you feeling?" She asks sitting in the chair beside my bed.

"Alright," I say pulling my knees to my chest.

"Don't lie to me," She says bluntly. "How are you honestly feeling?"

"Like crap," I say caving.

"And that's normal," She says. "Maya I came here to come and tell you something."

"Okay…"

"I know what it's like to be in that bed Maya and I just want you to know it gets better," Doctor Lambert says.

"How do you know about anything…?" I begin raising an eyebrow but she cuts me off.

"Let me finish Maya," She says sternly. "I didn't go through the exact circumstances you did but I know what it's like to feel alone and afraid. I know what it's like to feel like you can't go on and to be in so much pain that you can barely function. I know what it's like."

"Doctor Lambert I had no idea…" I whisper.

"Maya I'm not telling you this to get sympathy. I'm telling you this so that you know that you are _not_ alone," She says. "Do you want to where I was when I was your age?"

"Where?" I ask slightly scared.

"In hospital being treated for anorexia and anxiety. I failed my exams too and I had to retake everything just to get into my junior year."

"I…"

"Maya I want you to know it gets better," She says. "Look at how far I've came. I'm now one of the best trauma doctors in the state. I have a husband and a daughter. My life got better and so will yours. And you have so much more going for you than I did. You can do anything you want to do Maya if you put your mind to it and fight. Look how well it worked out for me."

We fall into a silence and I stare into space. Don't cry. Don't cry.

 _Too late._

I let out a sob and Doctor Lambert pulls me into a hug. I cling to her and cry hard. My parents hadn't wanted this for me. They would not have been disappointed over my exams. However they would have been disappointed for what I tried to do.

"I'm sorry," I stutter out.

"I know sweetheart. I know," Doctor Lambert whispers. "Just please realise that you have friends and family that care about you. That you are not alone. Maya if you ever need to talk about anything you know where I am."

"Thank you," I mumble pulling back. I wipe my eyes on the back of my hand calming down.

"Now I want you to promise me something," She says.

"What?"

"If you feel like this again or even if you do just need to talk that you come to me, Allison or Cuddy. It doesn't even have to be us. Just don't let this happen again. Don't let it bottle up."

"I promise." And I meant it.

"Now get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow when they discharge you," She says patting my hand. "I have to get back to work."

"Thank you," I whisper.

"You're welcome," She smiles. And with that she leaves.

In that moment I made a promise to myself. I was going to fight. I was going to fight hard. I would not be end up in hospital for this reason again. I would get my grades. I would go to college. I will make something of my life.

After all it was the least I could do.

Aunt Ali had came back that night after her shift. I gave her a teary apology and she apologised to me too for not seeing the signs. I told her my promise to myself and to Doctor Lambert and she agreed with every word.

She explained to me how the next couple weeks would work. I would be going with her to work every day where I would study for my retakes. I was allowed my laptop and so on but I had to leave the bathroom door unlocked when I was in there and I wasn't allowed to lock my bedroom door that it had to stay open.

I didn't argue. I didn't have a right to. I was going to get better and regain everyone's trust.

I was going to get better for me.


	28. Chapter 28: RESULTS DAY

**_Chapter 28:_** RESULTS DAY

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Present day (2007)_**

"I don't know if I can open it," I say pacing back and forth in the living room.

My MCAT results were in my hands. Oh crap they were in my hands.

"Maya take a deep breath," Aunt Ali says. I do so calming slightly. "Now open the envelope before I do."

I take another deep breath before ripping open the top of the envelope. I pull out the letter feeling Aunt Ali's eyes bore into me. I scan the letter taking in the key information.

 _Dear Miss Cameron…_

 _We would like to congratulate you on your score._

I skip ahead a few lines and find the score. My jaw near hits the floor and my knees feel weak so I quickly sit on the coffee table.

"Can you check that for me?" I say. "That I read this right?"

Aunt Ali takes the letter and reads it quickly. Her eyes widen.

"Oh my gosh Maya!" She exclaims pulling me into a hug.

"I read it correctly, didn't I?" I stutter out. "I got forty-one right?"

"Yeah, Maya you did," She grins. "I'm so proud of you!"

"That means I got the scholarship…"

"That means you got the scholarship!"

"I thought I got thirty at most… I felt crap that day due to a migraine coming on…"

"Maya, stop," Aunt Ali says sternly. "You worked hard for this. Migraine or no migraine you worked hard for this."

"I don't know how to react," I mumble.

"You did exceptionally Maya."

I nod.

"Now, I call Cuddy and you call Elizabeth and Deekes," She grins.

"Yeah," I say standing up grabbing my cell phone of the table flicking it open.

I dial the number for Doctor Lambert and walk into my room. After a few rings she picks up.

"Hello?" Dr Lambert says.

"Hello, Doctor Lambert," I say. "It's Maya. Sorry for calling so early."

"Maya you know you can call me anytime. And please we've went over this, call me Liz," She says. "What's up?"

"I got my MCAT results today…"

"And…?"

"I got forty-one," I grin. "I got the scholarship."

"OH MY GOSH MAYA!" She exclaims. "I never doubted for a moment! I'm so proud of you!"

"There's also something else I need to tell you," I say. "Something that I've left out so I wouldn't disappoint you if I didn't get the results."

"Which is…?"

"I want to specialise in traumatology," I say. "I want to help people like you do."

"Maya… I don't know what to say…" She whispers. "I'm so touched and proud."

"I'm keeping the promise I made in that hospital bed when I was sixteen," I say. "I got better and I will do great things. And I want to say thank you. Thank you that you showed me that I had a future."

"I may have shown you that Maya but you did it all by yourself," She says.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"No, thank you Maya. Thank you."

 ** _Maya's POV_**

JUNE 2005 – GRADUATION

I stand at the edge of the steps and walk on when my name is called.

"Maya Cameron. Top of her class and going to Harvard on a scholarship to study medicine," The principal.

"Thank you," I smile shaking his hand and taking my diploma.

"You deserve it," He smiles back releasing my hand.

I walk off stage and return to my seat. I watch as the rest of my year get their diploma and grin at Deekes when he gets his.

"Deeken Harper. Set to study Science in Emergency Services at Jefferson College of Health Services in Virginia."

I was proud of him. I really was. I had thought he would have gone into the police but he'd decided to go with Emergency services. I was shocked when he told me the reason was me.

The rest of the graduation goes quickly and I manage to get through my speech without messing up or tripping. Aunt Ali grinned at me the whole way through and when it was over she practically tackled me with a hug. Cuddy, Chase, Foreman, House and Liz are close behind.

"I'm so proud of you!" She exclaims practically lifting me of the ground. The air in my lungs rushes out in a whoosh and I'm shocked at her strength in lifting me.

"Calm down!" I gasp and she releases me chuckling. Before she can say anything House cuts in.

"So this is the midget that nearly died of meningitis in my department," He says.

"HOUSE!" Cuddy exclaims.

"And you must be Doctor Gregory House; the guy with the crippled leg who was supposed to treat me when I had meningitis," I shoot back.

"MAYA!" Aunt Ali exclaims but I just smirk.

"I hear you want to be part of the medical profession; the janitor of a hospital right?" He retaliates sarcastically.

"I hear that I beat you on the MCAT and its traumatology actually."

"Okay enough!" Cuddy and Aunt Ali say in unison.

"I like her!" House smirks. "Maybe her Aunt could learn a lesson or two about her fight."

I smirk and turn to Liz who's looking at the exchange with amusement.

"Well done!" She says giving me a hug.

"Thank you," I say pulling back.

Everyone else gives me hug and after five minutes I head off to get photos. There are many tearful goodbyes to friends and teachers. We promise to stay in touch and to meet up and I hope we do. Well most of them anyway. After a while the pictures and so on dies down and Aunt Ali comes up behind me and taps me on the shoulder.

"Ready to go home and celebrate?" She says.

"Yeah, you guys go ahead," I smile. "There's something I need to do. I'll meet you back at the apartment."

"I can give you a lift if you like?"

"I'm good. Sure I cycled here anyway," I assure.

"Fine but keep your cell on," Aunt Ali says. "How long will you be?"

"No longer than an hour."

She nods and gives me a hug.

I jump off the bike and leave it beside the grassy area. I walk up and stand in front of the graves. It had been a long time since I'd been here last. I sit down between them not caring about my dress and cross my legs.

"It's been a while since I've been here," I say out loud. "I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry it's been two years."

"A lots happened since then. I'm a runner now instead of a hockey player. I'm actually the best in the state. Imagine that. The girl who hated training is now a runner.

"I graduated today. Top of my class. It was a struggle but I got there. I'm going to Harvard to study medicine. I want to be a traumatologist," I say. "Just like Doctor Lambert."

"I miss you guys so much. I wish you were here," I say tears rolling down my checks. "It's been a long two years without you guys and I think about you two every day. I wish you were here. I wish you were here. I love Mom and Dad. I love you."

I sit silently for a minute and I'm just about to stand up when I hear movement behind me.

"I knew you would be here," Aunt Ali says.

"I needed to visit them," I whisper. "I needed to tell them how I'm been doing."

"I know you did sweetheart," She says sitting beside me. "I know."

"Do you think they'll be proud?"

"Extremely," Ali whispers putting her arm around me. I lean my head on her shoulder. "And so am I. Everyone is so proud. And I know you are going to make a brilliant doctor."

"I'm scared."

"You know what?" She smirks. "So was I. I was absolutely terrified going into medical school. Everyone is."

"You were scared?" I say.

"Terrified. Maya you're going to do amazing. No matter what. I know because you're here now," Aunt Ali says. "Now let's get you home."

I nod and we both get up. I wipe my eyes with my hand and follow her to the car grabbing my bike on the way.

Everything is going to be okay.

I was going to succeed.

I will succeed. I was going to become a doctor. Against all odds I will beat the odds.


	29. Chapter 29: FIRST DAY

**_Chapter 29:_** FIRST DAY

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Four years later (September 2011)_**

 ** _WARNING: GORE_**

"Hello Residents. Doctor Rorish will be here shortly but for now you've got me. I'm Jesse Salender and for the next three years, I'm your mamma. I'm the senior ER nurse and I can promise you there's nothing that goes on in this hospital that your mamma don't know about. Try finding something, your mamma will find out. You think you're smarter than your mamma because you got a MD well you are not. Your mamma knows when you're lying, crying or dying. It's not only my job to teach you right from wrong but to make sure you don't leave here in three years thinking you can do no wrong," The nurse in front of me says. I follow him quickly with the four other residents. He turns to a group of doctors working on a patient. "Can you clean this up please?"

"Thousands of newly-minted doctors like yourself apply every year to learn emergency medicine in Pacific Cathederal which you are about to enter. This is why you're here," He continues opening the doors in front of him. I take everything. "The most famous strip of hospital real estate in the nation. Where emergency medicine was born. Where the Secret Service reserves a trauma bed for the president of the United States when he is in Los Angeles. This is Trauma One Angels Memorial.

"This stalls round the perimeter called the sides are for the patients who could hold off dying for a few minutes and then this here, this is for the ones who are trying to die on you right this second. This ladies and gentlemen is centre stage. People come here for one reason and on reason only, to get one last miracle."

Every single one of us listens to him closely. This was it. The hardest residency to get in the country. The best place to learn trauma medicine. All I had to do was prove I was worthy of being here.

"Now in your Mamma's house there is a number one rule and in order that you properly obey this number one rule ask me all the questions you think is stupid. Why? 'Cause you're gonna be too afraid to ask Daddy, so better to ask me than to violate the number one rule which is you are not under any circumstances allowed to kill a guest in my house."

And with that he walks way.

"If he's Mamma who's daddy?" Doctor Layton says. Well I think its Doctor Layton. We were only introduced.

Before anyone can respond a loud siren goes and Nurse Salender followed by a female doctor rushes past.

"Homeboy drop off! Let's move!" She yells.

"That is."

We follow her quickly outside to a car left on the side of the road. In the car was an unconscious man with a gunshot wound to the neck. We move him quickly onto the gurney with Doctor Savetti pushing him with his legs. Doctor Pineda is quickly called into action to try and calm the bleeding. CPR is being carried out, blood being ordered, stats being yelled. We're barely in the centre stage before he's intubated. The vessel the bullet had hit was fried.

"It'll take a surgeon at least an hour to replace this vessel. This man has only ten minutes. We give him blood he dies," Doctor Rorish says. My jaw near hits the floor.

"You're going to let him die!?" I exclaim.

"What are you doing Leanne!?" A male doctor yells from across the room. It was chaos.

"Can anyone tell me what I'm doing? Anyone?" She yells. "I'm replacing all the patient's blood with ice cold saline, why?"

"The theory of cold blood infusion is that we can create a temporary suspension of animation through hypothermia buying the patient in theory the hour it'll take the surgeon to repair the artery," Doctor Lorenson says.

"Bingo! You are right!" Doctor Rorish grins then looks at me. "We are going to kill him. We're going to kill him to save him."

We stare at her in shock. This woman was nuts but this was why I came here. To study trauma medicine at its best. Medicine without barriers and let nothing stand in its way. But this however was nuts but it drew me in. I could do well here if I listened hard. Even despite the chaotic start.

And gosh was it a chaotic start.

I stand at the nurses' desk filling out a patient form between patients. We were in Code Red and the place was in chaos. Gosh way to start a residency. I look up when Doctor Savetti appears beside me.

"I haven't formally introduced myself," He says offering me his hand as he takes a file. "Doctor Mario Savetti."

"Doctor Maya Cameron," I say shaking his hands not taking my eyes off the file.

"Where did you study?" He asks.

"Harvard. Interned at Princeton Plainsbro," I reply taking another file.

"Ohh Harvard, what are you doing in a place like this?" He says. "You could have been in some fancy residency, why here?"

"I wanted to do trauma medicine, so I did trauma medicine. Simple as that," I say as I scan the file. Before he can reply Doctor Hudson comes up to me.

"How did the kid with laceration and head injury go?" He says.

"I gave him stitches, staples and a tetanus shot. Sent him upstairs for overnight observation and called child services for a consult," I reply handing him the file.

"Good call with the consult," He says but before he can respond his pager goes off. He's away in seconds and I look up at him running to the emergency doors.

A man with a broken leg is rushed in and disappears into centre stage. Barely thirty seconds go by before Doctor Savetti is called in by Doctor Rorish. I'm about to walk over to another patient when Doctor Guthrie rushes past me.

"Maya you're with me," He says. I follow close behind without question as we run towards the emergency doors. They burst open.

I was not expecting the blood.

The blood runs off the gurney from his neck and face. The person lying there mustn't be much older than seventeen or eighteen.

"Seventeen year old male. Injured during ice hockey training. Damage to the chest and neck and probable broken ribs that have punctured his right lung. There's a very deep laceration on his neck and a broken nose. Due to the amount of blood we're unsure if the carotid was nicked. Due to this we weren't able to put on a neck support," The paramedic says as we run towards centre stage. "In and out of consciousness on the way here. Vitals are weak."

"What's his name?" Doctor Guthrie asks.

"Lucas Smith," he replies.

"Lucas, I need you to relax. I'm Doctor Guthrie and this is Doctor Cameron, we're going to help you," He says. "Maya I need you take over from our good paramedic friend here and apply pressure to Lucas' neck."

"Yes sir," I say moving round the gurney. The paramedic jumps off and I jump on applying pressure to the wound but not before getting splashed with blood. Gosh this was hands on.

"Please call me Doctor Guthrie," He says as we enter centre stage. He then turns to the two nurses and ER doctor following him. "I need two pints of O-Neg in here!"

Centre Stage is in chaos and I can just about concentrate as we move the teenager onto the other gurney with me still applying pressure but supporting his neck also. I stay in the same position as his body armour comes off (a lot of good it did) and his underclothes. His chest and torso are bruised and his ribs on the right side are definitely broken. He's finding it hard to breathe and his vitals are not good. Come on Lucas. Keep fighting.

"Maya I need you to check if the carotid artery has been damaged, can you do that?"

"Yes Doctor Guthrie," I say as I take away the padding I had been holding to his neck which to be honest was now useless.

I carefully put my gloved fingers in the wound and try not to throw up. Focus, focus. I finish my exam quickly and pull out. No major arteries or veins nicked. I replace the gauze.

"Carotid and Inferior Vena Cava intact. No internal bleeding up in the neck. Some minor nicks in the veins but no internal bleeding as they are practically destroyed."

"Good," He says. "Jesse get the stich kit over there and give her suction while she cleans it up."

"What!?" I exclaim as Nurse Salender rushes beside me. I'd done sutures before but this was nuts.

"We have to stabilise him to move him Maya," Doctor Guthrie says. "Stay calm young lady."

I take a deep breath as Nurse Salender hands me the gauze covered with the cleaning solution. I take away the bloody one and set it to the side and quickly but carefully clean the wound, taking the small pieces of dirt out obviously from the ice. As soon as I'm done I set the gauze aside. Nurse Salender hands me the prepped needle and suture thread but the wound was still bleeding heavily.

I take a deep breath and try to steady my hands. _You can do this. You can do this._

"Can I have suction please?" I ask as I prep the needle to go in.

"Of course," He smiles. "Mamma is here to help. Now take a deep breath. You can do this."

I nod and get to work as soon as the area is semi-clear. My stitches are small and neat and unlikely to leave a huge scar. I did learn from the best. But that doesn't comfort me. One wrong move and I could nick the Carotid or Inferior Vena Cava then we'd be really screwed.

"You're doing great Maya," Nurse Salender says applying more suction. "You're sutures are perfect. Who taught you?"

"I did my internships at Princeton Plainsbro. At my time in diagnostics there was a fellow there called Doctor Christopher Taub who used to be a plastic surgeon; He taught me how to do stitches without leaving scars," I say still concentrating on the sutures. I knew Nurse Salender was trying to calm my nerves and it was working. "More suction to the left please."

Nurse Salender quickly complies and a few seconds later I've finished I take the needle off and set it down grabbing the scissors as I do so. I cut off the excess thread and then set the scissors down. I clean away the blood surrounding the stitches and quickly tape the gauze to the wound. I then move round and take the cervical collar off Nurse Salender and gently put it around the boy's neck to avoid causing more damage.

"Neck stabilised," I say but I barely get it out before there's a high pitched whine.

"He's going into respiratory distress!" Doctor Guthrie yells. "Maya I need you to do the incubation. We're still trying to get the chest tube in!"

Now I really thought I was going to throw up.

"I… I…" I stutter.

"You have done one before right!?"

"Yes sir," I stutter taking the equipment off Nurse Salender. Chaos was still going on beside me with the man with the broken leg and the boy with the head injury. Calm, Maya. Calm.

"Maya, breathe. You can do this," Nurse Salender says as I shakily do the procedure.

 _Singing helps you concentrate. It helps me._ Aunt Ali's words ring through my head. I take a depth breath.

"This is gospel for the fallen ones, locked away in permanent slumber, assembling their philosophies from pieces of broken memories," I sing under my breath as I find the line. I see Nurse Salender smirk out of the corner of my eye.

I ignore the whine and a few seconds get the line in the middle of the chorus.

"Got it," I say grabbing the bag. I quickly attach it and start to do a squeeze every ten seconds. The whining stops and the beeping turns regular again.

"And that's the tube in," Doctor Guthrie says. "Nice work Maya."

The room has calmed a little and I can hear the crying over the phone Doctor Rorish was holding. A round of applause sounds through the room and I would join but I was breathing for this boy. Doctor Guthrie pats me on the back and smiles at me even though the clapping was for Christa.

"There's an OR free," Someone yells. "There'll be another one available in ten minutes."

"Doctor Guthrie your patient needs it more," Doctor Rorish says. "I'll get the next one."

I quickly move as the gurney is wheeled away letting someone else takeover. I let out a sigh of relief. Gosh that was intense. And crap it was only the first day.

By the time the shift is over I felt like I was dead on my feet. I lazily pull my belongings out of my locker into my backpack and then pull my jacket on. The last thing I pull out is my helmet and visibility bands. I look round when the door opens behind me. It's Christa.

"You cycle?" She asks. "That's gonna be hell after that shift."

"I don't like cars, buses in LA are terrible and there's no direct train route. Cycling is the next best thing," I say closing my locker.

"Fair enough," She says. "I heard you did quite a job on the ice hockey player."

"And I heard you did a C-section in an ambulance," I smirk back.

"See you at seven Maya," She chuckles.

"See you at seven," I say walking out.

I just about make it to the staff exit before my phone goes off. I answer it quickly knowing exactly who it is. "Hi Aunt Ali!"

"Maya!" She exclaims happily. "I tried to call earlier but there was no answer."

"I was still on shift," I say. "I do night shifts for the trauma department remember?"

"Which I'm still not happy about," Ali retaliates back.

"It's a residency for trauma medicine what do you expect?" I was now sitting on my bike, the helmet on the handle bars.

"Your migraines…"

"My migraines are controlled by strict diet and I sleep during the day," I cut off. I balance the phone on my right shoulder as I put the visibility bands on. "I'm fine."

"I still think you should have taken the residency in Chicago…"

"And what would they think, huh? They'd think I was there due to nepotism as my aunt was the head of the ER," I point out. "And anyway this is the best place in the country to learn trauma medicine."

"Chicago has better hours…"

"I didn't do it for the hours and neither did you," I say my helmet now being on.

"You know I'm saying all this out of worry right?" She says quietly.

"I know. But I'm fine Aunt Ali. If I need anything Gran and Paps are here," I say. "I'm where I belong and I just need to learn to be more confident and I can't do that in Chicago."

"I know Maya, I know. Just be careful."

"I will Ali," I reply. "Now can I go home now? You know I cycle everywhere and it's kinda been a long shift."

"Of course," She says. I can hear the smile in her voice. "Speak to you later Maya."

"Bye Aunt Ali," I say and with that I put my mobile in my bag and clip my helmet.

I put my feet on the pedals and push off in the direction of my apartment. It was time to go home.


	30. Chapter 30: OLD FACE

**_Chapter 30:_** OLD FACE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Two weeks later_**

"Now I just need to give a shot sweetheart and then I'll be all done," I say to the blonde boy in front of me. He was seven years old and was here after falling in the park. I'd given him staples already.

The boy nods and I gently rub the sterilising solution on his arm. He looks away and I don't give him warning. In a matter of ten seconds I'm done. I give the injection point a wipe and then stick a plaster on it.

"All done," I smile. I then pull a lollypop out of the pocket of my scrubs. "Here you go."

"Thank you," He grins as he takes it.

"You're welcome," I say. I then turn to his mother. "He should be okay now. You should keep an eye on him for the next forty-eight hours, watching for issues like over-tiredness, slurred speech and unusual behaviour. Also make sure he doesn't have a headache and bring him straight in if he has persistent vomiting or a seizure. However none of that should happen as the injury is extremely mild."

"Thank you Doctor," The mother says.

"Now to get signed out go to the nurses desk where someone will give you the required forms," I smile.

"Thank you," She says and with that she leaves the boy waving goodbye.

I quickly tidy up throwing away the needle into the right disposal bin and my gloves into the other. I get rid of the bandages and wrappers and then grab the file walking over to the nurse's desk.

"That's the boy with the head injury done with," I say handing Nurse Salender the file.

"That a girl," He says handing me another file. "And we're only in code yellow at ten PM."

"Now you've jinxed it," I smirk and just as I do so the code moves to red above his head. "See!?"

"Show off," He smirks as I open the file and start to scan.

"Bye Nurse Salender," I say but before I can go to the patient a nurse calls behind.

"Doctor Cameron there's a call here for you," She says. "They say it's urgent."

I walk over and take the phone curious.

"Hello?" I say leaning on the desk.

"Hello, Maya? Is that you?" A male voice goes over the receiver. A voice I recognise.

"Who is this?"

"You know who it is Maya. It's me Elliot. I'm in…"

 _Hell no_.

I reach over the bench and hit the hang up button and put the phone on the receiver. I grab the file and make a bee line for the patient ignoring the panic swarming me. He's miles away in Maine. Calm down.

"What was that all about?" Nurse Salender asks concern on his face.

"Nothing," I smile hoping I fool him. "They wanted a different Doctor Cameron. Loads of us about. My Aunt works in a hospital in Chicago."

"You sure?"

"Positive," I smile. I then wave the file up in the air. "Guy with a broken arm needs my help. Better go. It is a Code Red after all."

Before he can respond, I'm gone.

Elliot did not get the message when I hung up on him. In the end I disconnect my mobile and dump it in my locker and tell the nurse's station if anyone calls under the name of Elliot Cameron to hang up. This doesn't go un-noticed by Doctor Rorish, Doctor Hudson and Nurse Salender. I only go near them when I have to when it comes to patients.

"Are you going to tell me who the guy is that keeps calling for you?" Doctor Rorish asks after we send a guy up from Centre Stage to the OR.

"Just a guy with the wrong number," I say.

"Maya if you're in trouble…" She begins.

"Not in trouble," I say bluntly as I take a file and walk off.

I don't miss the look she gives Christa.

At 1AM the calls stop. I don't know if it's because he's given up or because we're in Code Black but they stop thankfully. I quickly grab another file from the growing pile just back from my five minute coffee break but I'm stopped by Nurse Salender.

"Doctor Cameron!" He says. "There's some guy here that wants to see you. Says he's your uncle."

 _Crap._

"Tell him I'm busy," I say.

"He's really been quite persistent."

"Where is he?" I say trying not to snap.

"At reception," He replies. And I head straight towards the reception. I don't miss the look Nurse Salender gives to Doctor Rorish.

I open the doors and see Elliot instantly. He walks after me following me outside.

"Maya! I've been trying to…" He begins as soon as we're outside.

"What do you want?" I say bluntly cutting him off.

"Am I not allowed to visit my niece?"

"Elliot let me get this straight. You travelled thousands of miles from Maine to see a niece that you haven't seen in four maybe five years? A niece might I add who has openly expressed that she does not want to be in your life or you in hers? A niece in the nicest of terms who hates you?"

"Hate is a strong word…" He begins.

"Hate is about the right level of emotion I feel for you," I say firmly. "Because the last time I saw you I had a severe panic attack. Now I'm going to ask again and I want a straight answer. What do you want?"

"I need your help," He says.

"I'm sorry Elliot I'm not that kind of doctor," I say sarcastically.

"Ha ha very funny," He spits back now showing his true colours. "It's not for me. It's for my daughter."

"You have a daughter!?" I exclaim. I was not expecting that.

"Look I know you don't expect much from me but I got my life together after you had meningitis. What you said hit me hard. I moved to Maine and meet someone. We got married and had a kid. She's now three and the light of my world. She changed my view on everything Maya and I'm sorry for not being the person you needed, I really am," He says in a desperate tone.

"Why does she need my help?"

"She's sick. No doctor has been able to figure out what's wrong. Please Maya, I'm begging you just look at the case," He says.

"Why do you think I can help Elliot? If other doctors can't help what makes you think a first year resident in _trauma medicine_ can? I've only been here for weeks. Go to Aunt Ali…"

"You know she won't help me after what happened in the ICU."

"What makes you think I will?" I say. "Elliot look. I need to get back to my shift. We're in Code Black right now."

"Deeken said you would help," He says as I turn to go back in.

"Did he now?" I almost yell. I can feel all the pain about that stupid man hit me in waves and it takes all I have not to breakdown. "You can tell that asshole to stop sending me patients."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," I spit. "I broke up with Deeken Harper four years ago after I caught him cheating on me with some brunette nurse in training when I came down to his school to surprise him for the weekend. He has no clue what he thinks I'll help people with."

"Maya I had no idea…"

"Now you do," I say bluntly. "Goodbye Elliot. You come near me again purposefully I will call security on your ass."

"Maya please…"

"Goodbye Elliot."

And with that I re-enter the hospital.

I'm barely back to work thirty minutes before I'm grabbed by Doctor Rorish from the nurse's station.

"Maya, come with me," She says.

I follow her unwillingly and she leads me into a small conference room. I feel her take in my pale complexion and the shaking I was trying to hide. I usually got like this when Deeken was brought up. He'd done a number on my still mending heart.

"Are you going to tell me why you look as if you're ready to kill someone?" She says.

"Am I allowed to swear?" I say leaning against the wall.

"Stop avoiding. Who was the man that came to the hospital to see you?"

"Someone that will never come back here again without having security on their ass. Can I get back to my shift now?" I say bluntly.

"Not so fast. Is he bothering you? Do you need help?"

"I'm fine," I say but from the look in her eyes she knew I was lying. This was probably why she was sent. She didn't take any crap.

"Maya I have no interest in your personal life as long as it doesn't affect this hospital or patients," She says bluntly. "But your personal life just did both of those things. So I'm going to ask you what is wrong or I'm going to send you home sick so you can get your head straight. It's your choice."

I take a deep breath. I wasn't getting out of this.

"I don't like talking about it…" I say. "It's complicated."

"Then un-complicate it."

"That man was my uncle asking me for help," I say staring at the floor. "The last time I saw him I was seventeen and recovering in the ICU from meningitis and septic shock. He caused me to have a major panic attack that set back my recovery."

"Is that were the med tag comes from?" She asks.

"The med tag was already there when I got meningitis. The conditions it reads made treatment harder and me more susceptible to meningitis. I have asplenia," I say. I cut dead and I desperately hope she doesn't push further.

"And that's why you look pale and are shaking? And don't lie to me; if you do I will get Doctor Leighton in here to do a phsyc check," She smirks.

"There was a guy I dated for four years that Elliot brought up. Said guy dragged me out of a very dark place when I was a teenager. He did that several times. When I was in med school we broke up because the asshole cheated on me with some brunette trainee nurse. He said he couldn't cope with the distance," I say really not in the mood for Doctor Layton to get involved. "Elliot said that apparently Deeken had told him I would help him with his problem. I told him no and that if he came near me willingly again I would have security on his ass. Elliot bringing him up again just opened a lot of old still healing wounds."

"And what did your uncle want?"

"He wanted me to help his daughter. Which I responded to by saying go to my aunt as it was not my speciality and if proper fully trained doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong a first year resident of a different speciality was hardly going to be able to. My Aunt specialises in immunology and is actually closer geographically to him than I am. I have no clue why he didn't go to her."

"Are your issues going to affect your judgement?"

"No Doctor Rorish," I say but before she can respond both our pagers go off.

"Now is your chance to prove it," She says opening the door. "Let's go."

I follow Doctor Rorish out the door and into Centre Stage pushing all thoughts of Deeken and Elliot out of my mind.


	31. Chapter 31: SURPRISE

**_Chapter 31:_** SURPRISE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Two days later_**

"We are about to get people in from a street fair accident. First victims due to hit in three minutes!" Doctor Hudson yells. "Maya and Mario with Doctor Rorish, Malaya and Angus with me and Christa with Doctor Guthrie. Patients will be coming in at full force. So stay alert!"

Just as he finishes the first wave floods in and I quickly follow Doctor Rorish and Mario to the first gurney. I nearly throw up when I see the person on the gurney.

 _Elliot_.

"Forty-three year old male, puncture wounds to the torso and broken ribs causing breathing difficulties. Back and neck injuries as well as possible concussion. Dislocated knee," The paramedic relays.

"Where's my daughter?" Elliot yells. "Where's Emma!?"

"Sir, I need you to calm down," Doctor Rorish says as we make it to Centre Stage. "Maya can you do a pulse check on his leg please?"

"Wait Maya's treating me?" He says. Doctor Rorish's words barely reach me but I take a deep breath and push through the haze. Gosh was I going to have a migraine after tonight.

"Yes Doctor Rorish," I say moving to his leg. "Elliot I need you to calm down."

Doctor Rorish's eyes widen when I say his name but I stay focused and take his pulse in his calf. _He's just a patient. Focus Maya. Focus._

"There's a pulse but it's weak. We're going to have to set it or he'll lose it," I say calmly. I ignore the gurney being wheeled in but Elliot doesn't.

"Emma!" He yells, "That's Emma."

I look up on instinct and catch the first glimpse of my cousin who was seriously injured. Gosh that's a lot of blood. Nausea hits me hard but I close my eyes for a few seconds and swallow it back. _Focus, Maya. Focus_.

"Maya you good?" Doctor Rorish asks.

"Yes," I say surely. Gosh I was surprising myself here.

"Time to move him," Doctor Rorish says. "Mario support his neck, Maya support his leg."

Everyone moves quickly and we move him with no issues. Elliot yells out slightly. I then look at her and she gives me the nod to set his knee back into place. I take the scissors and cut his jean leg away and take a deep breath.

"Elliot your knee has been dislocated. I'm going to put it back in place but it will hurt," I say positioning myself.

"Fix Emma first!" He yells. _Stay calm._

"Doctor Hudson is dealing with her Elliot," I say firmly. "Now stay still."

Thankfully he complies.

I set the knee back into place causing him to yell out in pain. I really disliked him but I hated hearing him in pain. He may have hurt me but I didn't like it hearing him in so much agony. The nausea hits me again but harder. I swallow it back.

"Maya need you up here!" Doctor Rorish yells. "I need you to put a chest tube in while Mario and I sort out his torso."

I nod and move to the side his lung has been punctured. He's just a patient. You're a doctor. _Focus Maya. Focus._

I manage to get Elliot to the OR before the nausea takes over. I rip off my gloves chucking them into the bin and then make a beeline to the bathroom. Doctor Rorish was close behind me but I ignore her. I duck into a cubicle locking it and empty my stomach contents. I hear her come in as I finish.

"Maya?" She says.

"One second," I mumble weakly.

I grab some toilet roll, wipe my mouth and then flush the toilet. I take a deep breath and open the door walking over to one of the sinks.

"You did well," Doctor Rorish says.

"You call emptying my stomach contents doing well?" I mumble washing my hands.

"You kept it under control while the patient was in your care. I'm surprised you lasted that long. I classify that as doing well," She says firmly.

"Still threw up though," I say.

"You lasted longer than Christa and Malaya. Stop being so hard on yourself," She says. "Now we're in a Code Black. Think you can handle the rest of the shift?"

"I'm going to have to," I say. "But can I make the calls to Elliot's relatives?"

"You want to put yourself through that?"

"Gotta meet my hidden Aunt at some point," I say sarcastically. "Also I don't think you want to deal with my Aunt Allison…"

"Fair enough."

"Hello is that Mrs Cameron?" I say over the phone. Nurse Salender is standing in front of me.

"Yes it is. With whom am I speaking with?" She says.

"My name is Doctor Maya Cameron calling from Angels Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles. May I ask your location please?"

"Wait your Maya Cameron?"

"Yes mam. May I ask for your location again please?" I push. Nurse Salender nods pushing me on.

"I'm in Los Angeles in a hotel," She says. "Can I ask what this is concerning?"

"Mam I need you to come to the hospital as soon as possible. It's regarding your husband Elliot Cameron and daughter Emma Cameron," I say calmly.

"Are they okay!?" She yells so loudly I have to move the receiver away slightly.

"Mam, I'm sorry but I can't give that information over the phone. All I can say is that we need you to get here as soon as possible," I say. Nurse Salender gives me a thumbs up.

"Okay, okay. I can be there in thirty minutes," She says.

"Thank you mam," I say. "See you soon."

And with that I hang up the phone. Nurse Salender watches me as I pull out my mobile and hit a few buttons bringing up the number for Aunt Ali. This was going to be interesting…

"You don't need to call her right now, you know," He says.

"Yeah, I do," I smirk. "The longer I wait the worse it's going to get."

"You're in trouble aren't you?" Nurse Salender smirks back.

"I'm about to find that out," I say hitting the call button. The phone rings a few times.

"Hello?" Aunt Ali's voice comes across the receiver sounding tired. "Maya is that you?"

"Yeah it's me," I say walking away from the nurse's station and into a quiet corridor. "Sorry for calling so late. I don't have a lot of time as we're in Code Black but I need to speak to you about something."

"Okay," She's says. "You're lucky you didn't wake your cousin up."

"I know. And I'm sorry I called so late but I need to tell you about something… Um when was the last time you spoke to Elliot?"

"As in your uncle? The ICU room when you were seventeen," She says. "The last I heard of him he was in Maine. You know that."

"Well he's not in Maine, I can tell you that," I say. "Now Aunt Ali I don't want you to be mad…"

"Maya it's late; spit it out."

"Two days Elliot showed up to the hospital asking me for help with his daughter. I told him it's not my specialty. I work in trauma. He brought up Deeken and I told him that Deeken means nothing to me and if he comes back to the hospital intentionally I'd have security on his ass," I say. I look when I hear footsteps. It's Christa but before I can reply I get deafened by Ali.

"MAYA PEARL CAMERON WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME!?" She yells.

"I thought you said I was lucky I didn't wake Rebecca?" I say sarcastically.

"Don't play games with me. You know why I'm mad. The last time you saw him you had a severe panic attack," She exclaims.

"I'm twenty-two Ali! I haven't had an attack since I broke up with Deeken and even then that was down to severe stress and health issues not him. I can look after myself. I thought I got rid of Elliot but I'm calling you because for some unknown reason you're still under close family relatives," I say. I completely brush past the fact that hadn't slept properly since Elliot showed up and that my anxiety is through the roof. She didn't need to know that. Christa stands beside me.

"What are you talking about?" She says.

"I just treated Elliot for severe injuries sustained in a street fair accident. He's stabilised and in the OR right now along with his daughter. I know you two don't get along but I thought you should know. You are on that contact list. His wife is on the way. I don't expect you to come as you're in Chicago but I'm just making you aware," I say. I could feel the dull throb of a headache come on and I desperately hope I can get through the night without it turning into a migraine.

"I'll book a flight now," She says and I inwardly groan. "I'll be with you tomorrow."

"Aunt Ali you really don't need to do that. You are over two thousand miles away. There is no need for you to take a four hour flight over here," I say. "I'm an adult. I know how to take care of myself."

"I'm not saying you can't look after yourself, I'm just more concerned that you're stuck there with Elliot," She says. "I'm coming down for a few days a week at most. I'll stay with you, your grandparents or in a hotel."

"Fine," I say. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye Maya. See you tomorrow."

I hang up the phone and shove it into my scrubs pocket.

"Everything okay?" Christa asks. "I heard about what happened in Centre Stage. Who you had to operate on."

"Yeah but now my Aunt is going to be here for a week, two at most," I groan. "When she says a few days she never means it. She's way to over protective."

"Why don't you just get your parents on her?" Christa asks innocently. I restrain from wincing at the nerve she hits. It was going to happen at some point. Might as well get it over with.

"My parents are dead. Died when I was fifteen. She's my legal guardian," I say weakly. "Now please do not give me the sympathy card, because that's the last thing I want."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. But don't worry, I won't. I've been given the sympathy card before," She smiles sadly. "I hated it and I wouldn't give it to someone else."

"Thank you," I say and we're about to go back to the nurse's station when Doctor Rorish burst into the corridor.

"You two! Centre Stage now!" She yells then disappears.

We quickly run after her.

It never ends.


	32. Chapter 32: PROUD

**_Chapter 32:_** PROUD

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

I walk into Angels Memorial to absolute chaos. The waiting room was packed and doctors and nurses were attending to people were they sat. If anyone in Chicago were to see this… Maya's workplace was way different to where I worked.

However it was pouring it down outside. Los Angeles had finally broken the drought but that brought many people into the ER due to not being able to cope with the uncommon weather.

"Hello my name is Doctor Allison Cameron," I say to the person at the main desk. "I'm looking for my niece Maya Cameron. She's doing her residency here."

"Oh she said to expect you," The nurse smiles. "However you have caught us at a bad time. The weather usually puts us under a lot of pressure. We're in Code Black."

"When will I be able to see Maya?"

"To be quite honest I'm not sure. I think she's either in Centre Stage or in Trauma One. It's been a busy night," She says.

Before I can respond chaos erupts behind. I turn around to see two gurneys being wheeled in; one with a young woman and one with a young man. They both have thermal blankets on. Maya is with the man giving CPR and the woman is being treated by a tanned male doctor. She's struggling and ends up hitting him up the face.

But I'm more focused on Maya. She suits the scrubs and looks to be in her element. An older woman is yelling out stats beside the gurney and another male doctor around her age is running beside the gurney too. Everyone working on him is soaked.

"Where are they going?" I ask the nurse.

"Centre Stage from the looks of things. There's a viewing gallery if you want to watch your niece," She says and then points. "It's that way."

"Thank you."

I make it to the viewing area just after Maya. I listen to the older fellow.

"Maya can you stop compressions please?" She asks. Maya steps back and she gently lifts the patient forward to check his back.

"Okay twenty something male systolic in the field. Drowning and hypothermia; temp feels like eighties," She says. "Mamma we're going to need a core temp and warm saline. Maya restart the compressions."

"Got it!" The nurse yells.

"We need blankets in here!" The male doctor yells.

"His temp is in the eighties Doctor Savetti; he needs warming not a blanket," The fellow says firmly. Gosh this was heavy going. She hands him a needle. "Here, we need to flood his heart and lungs with everything we got."

"Core temp eighty-two!" The nurse yells. Maya was still giving compressions despite the chaos around her. That a girl. "No heart rate."

"Come on Maya keep going…" I whisper.

"How long were compressions going on in the field?" The older doctor asks.

"At least thirty minutes. We were waiting to call time of death till we got here," The paramedic says. Maya looks up at the doctor. "Doctor Rorish we've already done eight rounds of ACLS and another ten minutes of CPR."

"You can each do six minutes of CPR shifts. That's ten an hour," Doctor Rorish says ignoring the paramedic.

"That's an hour!" Maya says.

"Two if necessary. Don't stop until that number is in the mid-nineties," She says sternly. "You are the heart now. Our main issue right now is that he's frozen. Bottom line, he's not dead till he's warm and dead. Got it?"

"Got it!" Maya and Doctor Savetti say in unison.

Doctor Rorish then looks straight at me.

"You must be Doctor Allison Cameron. Maya said you were coming," She says. Maya looks up and sees me for the first time. I smile at her. She looks back down and carries on working. "Can we have a word?"

"Of course," I say and with that I make my way down stairs.

"So you're the Aunt Maya has told us about?" Doctor Rorish smiles offering me her hand. "Doctor Leanne Rorish, senior ER doctor and trauma fellow."

"Doctor Allison Cameron, head of emergency medicine in Northwestern Memorial," I say shaking her hand. "And Maya's Aunt."

"And now I see were Maya gets it from," She smirks. We were now in a small conference room and I watch as she pours out coffee in a Styrofoam cup. "Sorry this is the first break I've had all night. We've been in Code Black since six."

"It's no problem. I know what a Code Black is like," I say. "And thank you for the compliment but Maya knew she wanted to be a trauma doctor way before I even went down that route. I spent about four and a half years in diagnostics and before that did a residency in immunology. If anything I copied her."

"Still, getting to the head of a department isn't easy," She says. "Your niece is a good doctor. Probably one of the best I've seen come through here in a long time and I was a fellow when Neal was a resident. Did you hear what she did on her first shift?"

"No…"

"While Centre Stage was in chaos she stitched up a seventeen year olds neck and intubated him without help while the attending was putting in a test tube. Despite being a bit unconfident she did it without a hitch and ignored the guy with the broken leg, the woman having a C-section in the ambulance over the phone and me drilling into a boy's skull going on behind her," Doctor Rorish says.

"Wow, when she said it had been a long shift when I called her I thought it was just a few cuts and bruises. Broken bones at most," I say. "I've had my fair share of tough situations but on a first night…"

"Her parents must be so proud," Doctor Rorish says. I look at the woman's face and gage her sincerity. Gosh she didn't know.

"Maya hasn't told anyone has she?" I say.

"Told us what?"

"That her parents died in a car accident ten years ago," I say. The woman's face drops. "She managed to get through two years of med school without mentioning it. I shouldn't be surprised."

"That's good information to know," Doctor Rorish says her eyes distant and knowing. "I'll keep that in mind but she'll talk when she's ready."

"She usually does," I say sadly.

"Now I better get back to her and Mario," She says finishing her coffee. "She may be good but goodness knows what two residents can get up to unattended."

"True," I smirk. "It was nice meeting you Doctor Rorish."

"You too Doctor Cameron and please call me Leanne."

And with that she leaves.

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"So is it this chaotic every night?" Aunt Ali says.

"Usually," I say scanning the file in my hand. "We tend to go into Code Black a lot."

 _Seventeen year old girl, complaints of leg pain, severe cough and shortness of breath._

"When do you think you'll get off?"

"It's too early to say. We had a fifty-two hour Code Black last week," I say. "Now I'll see you later. I have a patient."

I walk away from the nurse's station and to trauma two. There is an athletic looking girl sitting on a gurney beside her mother. She's shaking and gripping her leg.

"Hello, my name is Doctor Cameron," I say politely. "I'm a first year resident here. What brings you to the ER tonight?"

"My daughter has been experiencing severe leg pain for the past week," The mother says. "It started small but now she can barely put weight on it."

"Any other issues?"

"Breathlessness and coughing," The girl says she then goes into a coughing fit which takes a few seconds to dissipate. "It's not common with me. I'm a track athlete."

"I've been there," I smile. "And what's your name?"

"Meghan," She smiles weakly.

"Well it's nice to meet you Meghan," I say. "Now I need you sit up properly. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," She says as I put my stethoscope on and I gently put it on her chest.

"Breathe in… And out," I say. I then move it to her right. "And again. In… And out."

I hide my frown. Her breath sounds didn't sound as strong as they should. I quickly check her back and it's the same. Her right lung is definitely weaker. I quickly check her neck for swelling and feel slight tenderness on the right also.

"How long have you had the cough and shortness of breath?" I ask.

"Three days. It's been gradually getting worse," Meghan says breathlessly as I put the back of my hand on her forehead. No fever.

I move down to her leg and gently check her right calf. There's slight redness and heat in the area. I think it's…

Before I can reach the conclusion Meghan starts coughing again but this time harder and more violently.

"Meghan I need you to sit back and try to take deep breaths for me," I say moving up to her head again.

She complies but I could see her struggling. The coughing worsens and that's when the blood comes up and hits me in the face. Barely five seconds later she passes out.

 _Crap. Stay calm, Maya, Stay calm._

I quickly check her pulse to find it erratic. Her breathing is weak and getting worse. Crap she was only supposed to be trauma two.

"What's wrong with her?" Her mother asks.

"Mam, I need you to step back," I say lowering the bed. I then yell as loudly as I can and hit the code button to my left. "I NEED A CRASH CART IN HERE. WE NEED TO INTUBATE!"

I quickly prep for intubation as Nurse Salender comes up beside me with the crash cart. Doctor Rorish isn't far behind him but by then I've already started the intubation.

"What have we got?" Doctor Rorish asks. I see Aunt Ali in the corner of my eye.

 _Focus Maya. Focus._

"Eighteen year old female, came in with breathlessness, coughing and leg pain. Went into respiratory distress before I could finish the exam," I say. A few seconds later I get the tube in I quickly bag it and give a breath every ten seconds. "That's the tube in."

"What are you thinking Maya?" Rorish asks.

I take a deep breath but don't reply to Rorish directly.

"Mam is your daughter on any medication?"

"Diannete," She says and that solidifies my suspicion.

"It's Deep Vein Thrombosis which has escalated to a Pulmonary Embolism," I say surely to Doctor Rorish who raises as eyebrow. She was still checking the girl's leg. "If the family has a history of blood clots below the age of forty five there's a higher risk of clotting on the medication she's taking."

"Good catch," She says and then turns and yells. "We need Warfarin and Heparin in here!"

The medication arrives quickly and Doctor Rorish gets Nurse Salender to take over the bag. She hands me the Heparin and she takes the Warfarin and we both inject it at the same time but in separate arms.

"Okay, time to bring her up to the ICU for observation," Doctor Rorish says.

I nod and we quickly wheel her to the lift the mother following closely. We page ICU as we go.

"That was a nice catch Maya," Doctor Rorish says hitting the button. "You can breathe now."

I take a deep shaky breath. Gosh that could have went south quickly. But it didn't, I quickly remind myself. I take a sigh of relief realising the girl was going to be fine with medication.

Just another day at Angels Memorial.


	33. Chapter 33: HELP

**_Chapter 33:_** HELP

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I stand in the lift beside Doctor Rorish. We had just stabilised Meghan and were on our way back to the ER.

"Now are you going to tell me how you caught that?" Doctor Rorish says.

"I felt heat around the affected area in her leg. That sort of clot often spreads to the lungs," I say.

"I know that's what usually happens but how did you know about it? Most doctors wouldn't catch it and it's not the type of thing they spend a lot of time on in medical school," She says.

"Diannette can cause clotting in people if the family has a background of clots before the age of forty-five. I had a hunch," I say. "I was on the medication when I was fifteen because I was anaemic. Regulate the rest of my body functions to avoid more iron loss. They had to go through every single hazard of taking the meds with me due to the state my health was in already at that stage."

"Good memory."

"I didn't talk much then. Kinda made me remember more," I say. Before she can respond the doors open.

"Time to get back to work," She smirks at me. "But one thing before you go back, you might want to clean the blood off your face first."

"Oh I forgot about that," I say wiping my face slightly. Some of the blood comes off. "She coughed blood into my face just before going into respiratory failure."

"Go get cleaned up. You have patients to attend to," She says.

And with that we head in different directions.

Three hours later we finally make it out of Code Black. By this point Aunt Ali has went to my apartment feeling that she's not really helping much here due to her not being insured by the hospital to treat patients here.

I stand silently at the nurse's station as I fill out a discharge form. I was tired but I had another hour and a half to go before I was let off and another two hours at least before I could go to bed. I'm about to leave with the next file when Mario comes up beside me.

"So I've wanted to ask you something for about a week now," He says as he grabs a file.

"Shoot," I smirk as I read the file in my hand.

"Well I was wandering if… If you would like to go out for drinks with me some time?" He stutters out.

I was not expecting that.

"Uh… well I…Mario I'm flattered… I really am…" I stutter, my brain still trying to find something to say.

"You already have a boyfriend don't you?" He says flustered going to walk away. "Shouldn't have said anything."

"No… No nothing like that," I say grabbing him before he can leave. "You just caught me of guard."

"So is that a yes…?" He says eyes lighting up.

"It's a no to drinks," I say causing his face to drop. "But… A maybe to breakfast."

"Since when did this turn into breakfast?" He smirks playfully.

"Well I don't drink for starters. And with our work schedule it's probably better to go with breakfast," I smirk back. "But under two conditions…"

"Oh so there are conditions now…"

"One, we do this after my Aunt goes back to Chicago," I say. "And two we take it as friends and see where it goes."

"Sounds good to me," He smirks and with that he leaves.

When he leaves I feel a blush go over my face. It's been a long time since anyone has looked at me in that way. In med school I was seen as the girl with the broken heart. I was seen as the broken and injured girl in Princeton Plainsbro. Mario…Mario didn't see that. For some unknown reason he didn't see that.

I take a deep shaky breath and then shake the thoughts out of my head. Not now.

"You're blushing," Christa says causing me to jump.

"No I'm not," I say blushing more.

"If you say so," She teases. "Anyhow I came here to tell you that Elliot Cameron wants to see you."

"He's awake?" I sigh.

"Yes. He has been for the past three maybe four hours. They couldn't contact you during the Code Black," Christa says. "You don't have to speak to him you know."

"I kinda do," I say putting the file down. "Gosh why didn't I just help when he came to me the first time?"

"It's not your fault," Christa says sympathetically. "Elliot choose to go to that fair. He's an adult and he made that decision. Not you."

"I still need to talk to him. If anyone asks I'm in Intensive care," I say.

"Of course," Christa smiles patting me on the shoulder and with that I leave.

I walk into Intensive care and stand at the foot of Elliot's bed. I grab his chart and read it quickly. He was lucky to be alive to be quite honest. The damage to his lungs…

I look up at him. Bandages stuck out of his hospital gown and he had a bandage on his head. A nasal cannula was in place and he had a full leg cast. There was also some abrasions and bruises covering his arms.

I put the chart down causing him to stir. He wakes up and gives me a confused look.

"Maya?" He whispers.

"Yep it's me," I say. "Came to see how you were doing?"

"You can see how I'm doing," He says. "Why are you really here?"

"How's Emma?" I ask getting to the point. I was in fact here due to my guilt over her. No point in hiding it.

"She's in the same shape as me. Probably worse. Jean is with her," He says sadly. "She has broken ribs, a broken arm, internal bleeding in the abdomen and head injury. She's lucky to be alive. How could I have been so stupid?"

"Don't do that to yourself Elliot. It's not your fault," I say bluntly but with a slight hint of sympathy.

"I knew asking you for help was a long shot," He says ignoring me. "If I had never came here…"

"Stop!" I snap cutting him off surprising him. "No-one could have ever known that the accident at that street fair was going to happen. Now I didn't come here to listen to you feel sorry for yourself. Tell me what's wrong with Emma."

"What?" He says surprised.

"What's wrong with Emma?" I ask again. "Quickly, before I change my mind."

"Uh, well the symptoms are vague. But they are there," Elliot says. "The doctors don't know what it is. They think we're getting worried over nothing. I…"

"Don't tell me what the other doctors think. Tell me her symptoms," I say. "I can formulate my own opinion despite the specialisation issue."

"Well she's always tired and complains of being sure. She's always coming down with colds and the flu. She then has regular rashes, headaches and stomach cramps. On top of this she is Anaemic."

"How old is she?"

"Five. She turns six in March," Elliot replies.

"How long has Emma had these symptoms?"

"Just over a year," He says. "Do you have any idea what's wrong?"

"No," I say. It wasn't a complete lie but I had an idea. "But I have people I can ask. I can contact Chase, Taub or Foreman and ask them. I also work under a lot of skilled doctors. They may know someone."

"Thank you," Elliot says quietly. "You have no idea how much this…"

"Don't," I say cutting him off. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for the sick little girl in the floor above. I'm not going to hide that I have a very strong dislike towards you because believe me I do. You hurt me Elliot. You hurt me bad and the wound you caused is still very raw but I'm not going to let that stop me helping a little girl who is sick. Understand that."

"I understand but still. Thank you. I know how hard this must be for you. I was an asshole to you and I'm sorry for that," He says. He seemed sincere but to be honest I didn't really care.

"I need to get back to my shift. I'll contact you if I find anything," I say. "Bye Elliot."

"Bye Maya. And thank you again."

And with that I leave.

I quickly get changed and pack my bag. I needed to catch Doctor Rorish before she left. I close my locker and pull on my jacket then leave the locker room. I look down the corridor to see Doctor Rorish about to leave.

"Doctor Rorish!" I shout causing her to turn to face me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," She says as I catch up with her. "What's up?"

"What do you know about diagnosing rare disorders?" I say.

"Well I spent some time in diagnostics when I was younger. I didn't like it so I changed specialisation. Why?"

"How seriously would a junior resident be taken if they went against several senior doctors?" I say. "What if said junior doctor said they were wrong and push that something was wrong?"

"This is about your cousin isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you go to your aunt?" Doctor Rorish asks which is a fair point.

"She'll say I'm being over emotional. She would never help Elliot."

"So you came to me? I thought you knew other diagnosticians."

"That also hate Elliot," I point out. "I just came to ask for advice and to find out if what I think it is completely mad or not."

"Okay. What do you think it is?"

"Lupus. I know it's rare but it fits her symptoms," I say.

"What makes you think that?"

"Lupus has very vague symptoms. According to Elliot she's always tired and complains of being sore. She's always coming down with colds and the flu which is common with this type of autoimmune. She then has regular rashes, headaches and stomach cramps and is anaemic. The infections could be put down to the anaemia but it doesn't explain the rashes, stomach cramps or soreness."

"It does seem to fit but why wouldn't it have been caught by now? Lupus is extremely dangerous."

"Lupus has periods of no symptoms or very few. In those periods it's very hard to catch it; maybe Emma hasn't had a massive flare up yet. The symptoms were probably put down to a lack of red meat and a persistent dust allergy."

"What made you think of this?" Doctor Rorish asks.

"Aunt Ali always said that when she worked for House that it was never Lupus but the one time it did happen it was incredibly dangerous. I'd rather be the one to rule it out than to ignore it and have a young girl die. My aunt's an immunologist. It would naturally be my first thought," I say surely.

"How about we make a deal?" Doctor Rorish says. "I come with you next shift and take the tests for Lupus under the condition that you do not get emotionally attached to that case."

"Deal," I say.

"Now shift is over. Time to go home and get some rest. See you at the start of the next shift Maya," She says.

"Thank you Doctor Rorish," I say.

And with that she leaves. I take a shaky breath and release. Gosh I hope I was wrong about this. Gosh I hope I was wrong.


	34. Chapter 34: LUPUS

**_Chapter 34:_** LUPUS

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I look at the test results on despair. The ESR test was a positive for inflammation somewhere in the body. There were both Anti-Nuclear and Anti-DNA antibodies present. Her complement levels were lower than they should be.

Crap she had Lupus.

"We're lucky you caught it," Doctor Rorish says from behind me.

I remain silent.

"You caught it Maya," She says tapping my shoulder. "That's the main thing."

"But we're about to crush that little girl's world. Her parent's… I might not like Elliot but I would never wish an autoimmune onto someone," I say my hand instinctively goes to my side. I knew what an immuno-deficiency was like but a full on disorder…

"It's better that we caught Maya just think of it that way," She says. "Do you want me to tell them?"

"I'll do it," I say quietly.

"Did Jesse tell you the trick with the stethoscope?"

"He did," I say.

I stand in front of Elliot and his wife holding my stethoscope in my right hand and clipboard in the other. They were both looking at me expectantly. Deep breath. You can do this.

"As you are aware we ran some blood tests on Emma," I say.

"And?" Elliot says.

"We discovered that in her blood Emma showed a lot of signs of something called Lupus. Her symptoms also fit it."

"And what's Lupus?" Mrs Cameron asks.

"Lupus is an autoimmune disease. In an autoimmune disease the body's immune system mistakes healthy tissues and organs as foreign and potentially dangerous invaders to the body and attacks them. This results in inflammation that eventually can cause a lot of damage to the affected areas. This explains why Emma has been getting rashes a lot, soreness, headaches, regular colds and flus… It fits her symptoms and we are lucky we caught it now," I say.

"How dangerous is this Lupus?"

"Very. Due to its nature there are many complications. Heart conditions, kidney problems… Emma is going to need a lot of care. We are lucky we caught it now. With the correct medical treatment she can live a normal life. Lupus only flares up from time to time. There will be periods were she has no symptoms but however there will be periods were she needs to be hospitalised."

"If this Lupus is so dangerous why didn't anyone catch it?" Elliot says.

"Lupus is incredibly hard to diagnose. Due to it only flaring up on occasion in the periods it's not causing issues it shows very little signs in tests. We were lucky to catch ourselves. The symptoms are extremely vague. Most doctors wouldn't think of it," I say. Mrs Cameron was now crying and Elliot takes her hand.

"How do we treat it? I mean is there a cure?" She asks.

"Currently there is no cure but there are treatments to ease symptoms and give a better standard of life," I reply. "For the rashes we recommend protection from the sun. So wearing a hat, clothes that cover the skin and sunglasses alongside High SPF sun-cream. And then Vitamin D supplements to combat a Vitamin D deficiency. NSAIDs can be used to reduce the soreness like ibuprofen but if Emma gets any form of Stomach, kidney or liver problems the medication has to stop. Have you got that so far? I know it's a lot to take in."

"Yes, please continue," Elliot says. He was writing as I spoke. At least he was organised.

"If the NSAIDs are no longer an option and to keep the flare ups under control Hydroxychloroquine can be recommended. It's usually used to treat Malaria but can be used to help with the soreness, rashes and fatigue," I continue.

"What is the treatment during flare ups?" Mrs Cameron asks.

"Corticosteroids and Immunosuppressants. But only in very bad circumstances are they used," I say.

"Is there anything else we should know?"

"I'm not an expert in this section of medicine. There's a lot I haven't told you because I'm unaware of it or I don't understand it," I say honestly. "An immunologist will come by in the morning to give you everything you need to know."

"Thank you Maya," Elliot say quietly. "Thank you for finding out what's wrong with Emma."

"Just doing my job," I say. "I'll give you some time to process."

They nod and then I leave the room. Doctor Rorish is outside and she pats me on the arm. Tears had began to fall and I quickly wipe my eyes. I was shaking but I quickly get it under control.

"You just did one of the hardest things any doctor can do," She says. "Well done."

"We should get back to the shift," I say.

She gives me a nod and I follow her down the corridor.

I never wanted to have to do that again.

I walk into my apartment at 10AM. I felt dead on my feet and all I wanted to do was sleep. But I had to talk to Ali first.

"Maya?" Aunt Ali's voice rings through the apartment.

"Yeah it's me," I say as I hang up my jacket and helmet.

"How was the shift?" She asks coming into the hallway.

"It was okay. Long more than anything else," I reply. "Look I need to tell you something."

"Is this that you just diagnosed Elliot's daughter with Lupus?"

"How did you…?" I say confused.

"Doctor Rorish called. Told me what you did," She says. "Why didn't you come to me? I am the immunologist."

"I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know how you would react," I say.

"I'm proud of you," She says. "I'm proud you helped even though he hurt you."

"It was the right thing to do," I whisper.

"I know. That's why I'm proud. They'd be proud. You're gonna make a great doctor."

And with that she pulls me into a hug and I break down. I cry long and hard. It had been a long shift. It had been a rough shift. I didn't like Elliot but I hated the fact I just told him that his daughter had Lupus. But in a way some of the pain he caused is let out too and even some of the pain brought back up when he mentioned Deekes.

I needed to heal.

But I had no clue how.


	35. Chapter 35: EXIT WOUNDS

**_Chapter 35:_** EXIT WOUNDS

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"So what brings a Harvard graduate to LA?" Mario asks.

We were in a random diner not far from the hospital. Apparently Mario had come here after a shift a few times and said it was nice.

"What brings a NYU graduate to LA?" I smirk back.

"Fair point. But seriously though you went to the top medical in the country. Why on earth would you go for trauma medicine? You could have gone for diagnostics or oncology with that level of education," He says.

"I wanted to help people in a hands on way. I wanted to make my parents proud."

"Over-bearing parents. Should have known."

"I wish I could say that. They were the best parents anyone could have asked for," I say. "They passed when I was fifteen. We were in a car accident."

"Maya, I'm sorry, I had no…" Mario begins.

"Don't. No sympathy please. It's the last thing I want," I say firmly. "Your turn. What made you want to do traumatology?"

"It's my last chance. I could see you or Angus or any of the other residents as big doctors in their white coats with a big office. For me I don't think that's possible," He says.

"I don't believe that for one second," I say. "You were pretty good at picking up on things other residents didn't."

"Thank you for the sentiment," He smirks. "I think we need to move onto lighter topics, don't you?"

"That obvious?" I say sarcastically.

"Always with the remarks," He chuckles. "Let's start simple. What's your favourite colour?"

"Purple. You?"

"Yellow," He says. I raise an eyebrow. "I like the sunset. It gave a kid hope in dark times."

"Fair enough," I say and before he can reply our food arrives. I smile. "Thank you."

"For someone who is so skinny, you sure do eat a lot," He smirks looking at my pancakes.

"One, I'm a Cameron. Two, I have a high metabolism. Three, I work in trauma and four I exercise a lot," I smirk back then nod at his plate. "And you can't say anything. You're not much better."

"True," He smirks. "So what's your favourite movie?"

"Are we really going to go done that route?" I smirk.

"What do you want to talk about then?"

"How about your most embarrassing moment?" I say.

"Oh you'll have to go first before I tell you that," He says taking a mouthful of food.

"Fair enough. I fell of a stage when I was thirteen and dislocated my shoulder in front of an audience of about seven hundred," I say slightly embarrassed.

"What were you performing in?" He chuckles.

"A school's production of Mamma Mia," I smirk. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A man after midnight. Take me through the darkness to the break of the… Bang! Off the stage. Really gotta watch those slides. Your turn."

"Fair enough," He chuckles. "Well mine would probably be when I threw up on my date to prom."

"Ohhh, what happened? Too drunk?" I smirk.

"I wish," He chuckles. "I thought it was a good idea to go to my prom when I felt ill. Turned out I had food poisoning. My date however wasn't very sympathetic…"

"That's awful," I say trying not to laugh.

He rolls his eyes as he takes another bite of his breakfast.

I think about Aunt Ali's reaction when I had told her I was going out with Mario. She had gotten overly excited as this was the first time I'd went out with anyone properly since Deekes and I broke up. I was scared of being hurt again so closed myself of. I'd told Ali that it wasn't a date it was just breakfast.

But now I think it could be more. We get on well. He makes me laugh and it's been a while since a guy has done that. I push the thought out of my head.

It was just breakfast.

"I heard there's a new paramedic joining the ranks tonight," Christa says beside me at the nurse's station. "From New Jersey. Any idea who? I think he's your age."

"Not that I can think of…" I say thinking. "I only spent a brief time in my internship in emergency services. I knew a couple of paramedics but they were either slightly younger than me or older."

"Who knows? You might know him," Christa smirks.

I roll my eyes and move to make my way to my next patient but Christa grabs my arm before I can.

"That's him," She says nodding to someone behind me.

I turn my head and see who she means immediately. My heart drops as I know him. That black hair, green eyed stare and heavily built frame. It was Deekes.

 _Crap._

I turn my head around hoping he doesn't see me. I look at the file and act like its nothing. However I felt like I was going to be sick. _Stay calm. Stay calm._

"You know him?" Christa asks innocently.

"Depends on your definition," I say. She raises an eyebrow. "I need to get to this patient."

"Okay," She says and from her tone of voice she knows something is wrong. "If you need to talk you know where I am."

"Thanks," I mumble.

And with that I leave.

I manage to avoid Deekes for the majority of the night. I treat patient after patient and only take two breaks. I could see Christa, Mario and Doctor Rorish were worried and had good reason. They just didn't know why. I knew if I didn't stop soon I would burn out especially due to the fact we were on the brink of Code Black. A migraine builds in the back of my head but I ignore it. I had to.

I really didn't want to run into Deekes even though it was inevitable.

I was being stupid. I knew I was. We were both adults and we were both working in the same place. It didn't mean we had to be friends. But Deekes had hurt me. He pushed me back into a dark depression and anxiety I had never wanted to revisit and to cope I'd cut off all ties with him.

And now he was back despite my best efforts.

I stand silently at the nurse's station signing forms for a scan for a patient. My handwriting was neat and loopy. I remember Mario calling it girly the first time he saw it and I had rolled my eyes at him. Just because it was loopy did not mean it was girly.

"You're avoiding the new paramedic," Doctor Rorish says beside me causing me to jump.

"What if I am?" I say avoiding her.

"Who is he? I hear he's from New Jersey," She says.

"Deeken Harper," I say bluntly. "My asshole ex."

Her jaw drops and she looks like she's about to respond but before she can respond Doctor Rorish's pager goes off.

"We'll finish this later," She says. "Come on Centre Stage."

I follow her quickly to the gurney being brought in by none other by Deekes. His eyes widen when he sees me but I ignore the anger that courses through me and push on. Doctor Rorish thankfully takes over.

"What's his stats?"

"Twenty-three year old male, gunshot wound to the abdomen and a severe head injury," The other paramedic with Deekes says. Deekes is still staring at me. "In and out of consciousness, has a latex allergy and diabetes. Had to administer an eppipen on route."

Doctor Rorish and I quickly get the patient into centre stage and secure the gurney being careful not to touch him as we were still using latex gloves.

"We have a severe latex allergy!" I say loudly taking off my gloves and grabbing the latex free from the side. "This area needs cleared of latex now!"

As I'm clearing the latex Doctor Rorish starts to assess the situation. It wasn't good. We had a broken insulin pump, possible damaged organs, severe blood loss and possible brain swelling/neck injury.

While I work Deekes stares at me, making me feel highly uncomfortable. Well until Doctor Rorish tells him to leave. I gave her a grateful look and get on with my job.

This was going to be fun.

"Maya! Can we talk?"

Deekes' voice comes from behind me and I inwardly groan. I had been so close to the end of the shift without having to talk to him but that was now spoiled. I look up at Nurse Salender in front of me who mouths _Deep breath_ at me. I take his advice and turn around to face Deekes.

"This way," I say. "Keep up."

He follows me easily and I lead him to a calm corridor with only a couple of nurses about. I take a power stance and cross my arms. I have this.

"What do you want Deeken?"

"I just wanted to say I had no idea you would be here… I thought you went to Chicago," He says surely. I sigh. "What?"

"Look I don't care that you thought I was in Chicago all I care about is the fact we are now stuck in the same workplace as each other," I say bluntly.

"But you can't change that."

"I know I can't," I say. "I'm here to learn emergency medicine from the best. You're here in one of the best paramedic placements in the country. We both worked hard to get here and neither of us deserves to have to leave over an ex no matter how bitter the feelings."

"Then what do you suppose we do?" He says.

"You broke me Deeken. I was broken for a very long time after you cheated. It's taken me four years to even vaguely start to heal," I say. "I don't want to be friends. I don't want to make up. We are colleagues. That is it. You give me the patients and tell me what's wrong. I fix and stabilise the patients. That's it. We do our jobs; nothing further."

"Maya that's a bit harsh…"

"It's the right level that's needed. You hurt me and I do not want to get hurt again. Now do your job Deeken," I say and then turn and walk away tears streaming down my face.

I duck into the women's and let out a small sob. I don't let myself cry for long though. I quickly compose myself and walk back out to finish my shift. It was time to do my job.

I was not letting Deeken hurt me again.


	36. Chapter 36: KISS

**_Chapter 36:_** KISS

 ** _Maya's POV_**

As weeks go by I go more into myself. I avoid Deeken at all costs, only speaking to him when he brings in patients. He's annoyed at the fact I've blocked him but I don't care. I get closer to Mario and we go on more dates but I'm afraid to let him in. I know he senses it but he doesn't say anything.

Christa becomes over protective whenever Deeken comes near me acting like an older sister. Doctor Rorish watches from a distance observing that I've started back again on more medication. She doesn't know the type of medication I'm talking but she knows it's due to Deeken.

I take the normal medication. My anti-allergy, ferrous galfer, low dose antibiotics and so on. But I also have had to start back on my anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medication. I ignore my sleeping tablets though. I hate them. They make me over tired. However if I didn't get proper sleep soon I would need to start them again to at least get my sleep cycle into a vague routine again.

I hated this. I hated that Deeken still had the power to do this. I thought I'd got over him but obviously I hadn't.

Gosh I haven't got over him.

"So we both have a day off tomorrow and I was thinking…" Mario says but trails off. We were at the nurse's station.

"Thinking what?" I smirk.

"That we could get dinner or catch a movie or something. We've only really been able to do breakfast so I though why not," He smiles.

"Sounds good."

"So say I pick you up at six and we catch a movie and get dinner after?" He suggests. He was cute when he was nervous.

"Perfect," I smile.

Before he can respond I'm grabbed by Doctor Rorish who's being followed by Christa and Mario is grabbed by Doctor Hudson who's being followed by Angus. And dragged into centre stage.

Here we go again.

I stand in front of the mirror smoothing down my skirt. I was dressed in a powder blue skirt, white jumper and brown lace-up boots. I had light makeup on and my hair was lightly curled. I was nervous and had butterflies in my stomach.

 _Stay calm. It's just a date._

I look towards the door when I hear a knock and take a deep breath. I open the door and find who I was expecting, Mario, but his style surprises me. Gosh he looked handsome. He wore a pair of black jeans, a v-neck white t-shirt and black jacket. A pair of sunglasses hung off the collar of the t-shirt and wore a pair of black lace up shoes. It takes me a few seconds to release he's also gaping at me.

"Hi…" I stutter out.

"Hi," He smiles back. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," I say clearing my throat. I quickly grab my brown leather jacket and handbag. "Where are we headed?"

"I was thinking of seeing The Martian then dinner. But only if you want to," He says as I lock my door.

"Sounds good," I smile as we make it down to his jeep.

The drive to the cinema is quiet but it's not an awkward silence. It only takes us about ten minutes to get there and we take our time as the movie isn't for another twenty minutes. With a lot of arguing we split the price between us. Mario pays for the tickets and I pay for the snacks. He's cute throughout the movie doing the whole yawn and stretch move so he could put his arm around me. I respond with a smirk and snuggle against him.

A warm feeling settles in my heart. It had been a while since I'd felt like this or allowed myself to. But I felt safe to let myself relax around him. Mario felt different. He wasn't going to hurt me on purpose and I knew he wasn't. I felt I could trust him and I did. I did.

"I had fun tonight," I smile.

Mario and I were standing outside my apartment's door. It was late but I wasn't tired. I did have fun. The movie had been good and it had been a nice meal.

"Me too," He smiles. "We should do it again sometime."

"Definitely," I smile back as we fall into an awkward silence. Well I wouldn't call it awkward. I would call it him trying to gauge the moment.

Within seconds his lips find mine in a soft gentle kiss. I hum happily against his lips as he grabs my waist and I loop my arms around his neck. My eyes drift close but the kiss was over as soon as it begun.

"Sorry I should have asked if you were ready…" He says pulling back and I look at him confused. "I know how protective you are…"

I silence him by putting a finger on his lips.

"Mario I would have pushed you away if I wasn't ready," I say surely. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, I freaked," He says quietly. "I don't know what it is about you but I feel different. I feel vulnerable."

"You would be glad to hear I feel the same way," I whisper. His lips quickly find mine after that and I grin against them. This time he grabs slightly lower than my waist and I knew it was going to go further than just kissing.

"Do you want to come inside?" I mumble as the kissing intensifies.

"Definitely," He says as I turn in his arms and fumble with the door distracted by the hands moving up and down my waist and back.

We're barely in before he pins me to the wall burying his head in my neck.

"Just a quick thing before we go further," I whisper causing him to stop. "I've only done this with one other guy and I'm not experienced. So please take it slow. My scars… my scars are ugly. They're on my torso and chest…"

"Hey," He says cutting me off. "I don't care. You're beautiful and I couldn't care less if you were experienced or not. The speed is completely up to you. Okay?"

"Okay," I nod. I then kiss him with a smile.

It was going to be long night.

I wake up slowly to Mario's arms wrapped around me, strong and protecting. I look up to find him watching me. I smirk at him.

"Morning," I smile.

"Morning," He smiles back running his hands up and down my back.

"Last night was…" I begin but I trail off. There were no words.

"Exactly," He chuckles.

I chuckle back and lean in to kiss him. It's slow unlike last night and it takes all I have not to get carried away.

"Want some coffee?" I ask pulling back.

"That's all you think about isn't it?" He chuckles.

"Maybe," I smirk getting up and pulling on some underwear and a t-shirt.

Before I can say anything else I hear a buzzing and the song _American Idiot_. That would be my phone. I quickly grab it off the dresser.

"Hello?" I say.

"Maya it's Doctor Rorish," The caller says. I inwardly groan. "There's been a massive road accident on the highway. All hands on deck. I know it's your day off but you're needed."

"Is Mario needed too?" I say.

"Yeah…"

"I'll save you a call," I say and I can see the raised eyebrow from Doctor Rorish now. "Mario we're needed at the hospital."

"Thank you Maya," She says. "See you shortly."

"See you soon."

I hang up the phone and Mario smirks at me.

"Duty calls," I sigh. "Dibs on first shower."

He rolls his eyes as I give him a quick kiss and leave the room.

It was going to be a long day.


	37. Chapter 37: MIRROR

**_Chapter 37:_** MIRROR

 ** _TRIGGER WARNINGS: CAR ACCIDENTS (MULTIPLE), PANIC ATTACKS AND DEPRESSION_**

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I walk out of the locker room in my scrubs to chaos. The hospital was in Code Black with more patients still coming in. There had been at least thirty cars involved in the accident ten of which had got it pretty badly.

Gosh it was going to be a long shift.

I barely make it to the nurse's station before I'm grabbed by Doctor Rorish and lead towards the emergency. She gives me a smirk.

"So you and Mario?"

"Yep," I say back trying not to smile.

"How long?"

"Nearly two months," I reply.

Before she can reply the doors burst open and a gurney is brought in by Deeken and another paramedic. Seeing Deeken surprisingly doesn't bother me as much as it usually does. I put it down to how close, _ahem_ , Mario and I got last night. However the expression on his face concerns me. He's looking at me like he's sorry for me.

That's when I see the patient.

Dislocated shoulder. Two pretty big shards of glass in the torso. Chest injuries and head injury. Various lacerations and bruises.

"Fifteen year old female, was found in the worst of car of the crash. Father is on route behind us, mother didn't make it," The older paramedic says as we push the girl into Centre Stage. You have got to be freaking kidding me. It takes all I have to stay calm while he says her injuries. "Mass amount of blood loss and unconscious on arrival. Pulse is weak and thready and is having severe breathing difficulties."

"Okay we need to move her very carefully," Doctor Rorish says as we secure the bed in centre stage. "Maya I need you to go round that side and help support that side."

I nod and shakily go over to the girl's right side. I gently stretch over the proper gurney and grab her.

"Got her," I say.

"On the count of three. One… Two… Three…" Doctor Rorish says and we quickly move the girl.

I get hit by the blood first.

I jump back stunned as the monitor goes nuts and from the looks of it Doctor Rorish needs to take a second to get her head straight. We've nicked something.

"WE NEED SURGICAL IN HERE!" She yells as I jump into action.

One of the nurses comes up behind me a puts on a pair of goggles for me as I start to check her chest and torso desperately ignoring the blood. Rapid heartbeat and low pressure.

"We've nicked the adrenal glands and her right kidney," I say.

"We need to stop the bleeding," Doctor Rorish says as we both get scrubbed up.

This was chaos.

I take a deep breath and try to stay calm. We could not lose this patient. No. Come on kid you have got to fight.

Doctor Rorish comes round the same side as me as I start to cut away the girl's shirt but I was having difficulty with the mass amount of blood. I flinch away when I get hit by more blood after I finally get the shirt free.

 _Stay calm. Stay calm._

The high pitched whine fills the room.

 _Crap._

"Maya start compressions," Doctor Rorish says as she takes over from me.

I nod in a haze and start compressions. _She's not you. Stay calm. She's not you_. But it's hard to focus as the realisation hits me that this was me on this gurney ten years ago. I keep going strong with the compressions as people slowly stop around me.

"Any objections?" Doctor Rorish asks.

I keep going shaking my head. No. No. I won't let this happen. No. Come on fight.

"Maya stop," She says. I don't. "Maya!"

I stop due to the tone of her voice. I step down breathing heavily. I don't bother hiding the tears that begin to fall. DAMMIT!

"Time of death nine forty eight AM," Doctor Rorish says.

I rip off my gloves and gown and chuck them in the nearest bin and storm out, ignoring the voices behind me.

I burst out of the back emergency entrance just as the panic takes over. I need air. I need air. It's not long before I empty my stomach contents into the nearest bin. A few seconds after the emergency doors that I'd just burst through burst open again to reveal Doctor Rorish. However I was too busy trying to calm down.

"What was that all about!?" She says sternly.

I stutter over my words and thoughts. My hand instinctively goes to my side as my thoughts start to swarm.

"That… That…" I stutter the panic starting to hit me harder.

"Maya what's wrong?" She says softer than her previous blow up realising there's something wrong.

"That… That was me six years ago. On that table," I stutter out breathless. "The patient no trauma doctor wants to see."

"Maya what are you talking about?"

"I was that girl," I say. "Trauma level five borderline six. Bleeding out everywhere. Parents dead or still fighting."

"Awk Maya…" She begins.

"And it had to be the exact same injuries because the universe freaking hates me," I barrel on.

"What do you mean?"

I lift up my scrubs briefly to show the three scars on my torso, two messy and one neat. Her jaw drops.

"There's two on the side of my chest and one on my forehead," I say fixing my scrubs. "My spleen got hit instead of the kidneys and adrenals."

My breathing starts to pick up as things hit me all at once. That could have been me six years ago. That should have been me. I just lost a patient. _Crap_. My legs buckle as the attack hits.

"Maya, do you have a panic disorder?" Doctor Rorish asks going into Doctor Mode.

I nod as I start to do my breathing exercises. In… Hold… Out…

"Haven't had an attack since high school," I wheeze.

"It's okay," She says kneeling down. "Head between your knees and deep breaths."

It takes Doctor Rorish a good ten minutes to calm me down but thankfully she does. Five minutes after that we head back in. She puts me onto TSI2 and TSI3 patients which I was thankful for. She doesn't tell anyone about the attack, not even Doctor Perello and I was thankful for that too.

Mario looks at me with concerned eyes the entire Code but I avoid him. My head was pounding and I took my breaks in hidden areas. When the crisis is finally over and my shift ends I leave quickly before anyone can grab me. I say a quick thank you to Doctor Rorish and head home taking a cab instead of getting a ride with Mario whom I came to work with.

I needed to get home and get some sleep.

Everything always looked better in the morning light.


	38. Chapter 38: LIST

**_Chapter 38:_** LIST

 ** _WARNING: DRINKING_**

 ** _Maya's POV_**

Things did not look better in the morning light.

I wake up to a pounding headache (the leftovers of a migraine), that shaky anxiety feeling I always get after an attack and the feeling of not having the energy to do anything despite getting more sleep than usual. My night had been haunted by the pain of a migraine and nightmares.

Great it was going to be one of those days were it was a battle to accomplish one task and even then there's that little voice in the back of my head telling me I'm doing everything wrong.

I sit up and run my hands through my hair and over my face. Okay to do list…

 _Coffee and breakfast_

 _Shower_

 _Get dressed_

 _Laundry_

 _Food shop_

 _Paper work_

I slowly get up and make my way to the kitchen and switch the coffee machine on and slowly get some cereal despite not being that hungry. I take my time with breakfast knowing I had till 18:00. Then I would go to my next shift. It was only 9:30. I get through the first four items on my list easily enough. The laundry runs while I pack my backpack for the food shop. I turn all appliances off apart from the washing machine and leave my apartment.

Bad choice.

Everywhere I look I see the girl from Centre Stage. In stranger's faces. In the windows of cars. In kids playing. As the food shop goes on my mood darkens and my drive to do anything slowly diminishes. I buy something I've only ever drunk once before. I knew what I was about to do was stupid but I remember the effects it had last time. It numbed the bad feelings.

Well mostly.

However a voice in the back of my head told me not to do this. I had a shift tonight. It was a bad idea. But the bad emotions run over the voice of reason. And I buy it anyway. I'll call in sick and pay the consequences tomorrow. And gosh will I pay the price tomorrow.

When I get in I do the stuff I'm supposed very slowly. I finish my laundry, put away the shopping and do my paperwork but at four instead of leaving I get into sweats and collapse on the sofa. My head is pounding and I felt exhausted. I take a deep breath and make the call. I wasn't lying when I said a migraine. I just exaggerated.

I don't open the bottle until about eight but when I take the first mouthful I knew it was a bad idea. But it was too late to go back. I keep going ignoring the burn.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Mario's POV_**

"Have you seen Maya?" I ask Nurse Salender as I go up to the nurse's station.

"No," He says. "I thought you knew. She called in sick just before the shift. Sounded miserable."

"Oh," I say surprised she didn't text me. "Thanks Nurse Salender."

With that I grab the next file and head to the next patient but I'm stopped by a concerned Doctor Rorish.

"Have you spoken to Maya?" She asks concern lacing her voice.

"Not since last night, why?" I reply confused.

"Look Maya didn't take losing that patient well last shift; that's why I sent her to TSI2 and TSI3," She says. "You know her better than I do. Is there anything I should know?"

"She's quite private and guarded. I wouldn't know if there was anything going on in the first place," I reply.

"Right, we're in code green at the minute. I don't think we're going anything further than code red to be quite honest. I don't usually do this but I want you to go check on her," She says. "Something seems wrong. I may be wrong but I'd rather be wrong than let something happen to her."

"What do you want me to do when I get there?"

"It depends. If she's okay and has a migraine come back, if not call me on this number," She says handing me a piece of paper. "Now go."

I nod and give Rorish the file I was holding. She rolls her eyes and I leave.

I arrive at Maya's apartment fifteen minutes later and knock heavily on the door. I knock twice with no reply. Crap.

"Maya? You in there?" I yell through the door knocking a third time.

When there's no reply I step back and scan the area. Where would she keep a spare key? I bend down and check under the mat. No. Under the flower pot. No. In the flower pot. There we go.

I was really going to have to talk to her about better hiding places.

I quickly open the door and carefully step inside closing it behind me. The light was on which was a good sign.

"Maya?" I say.

"Mario!"

Her voice comes from the living room and she quickly appears. She seemed giddy and was swaying. She looked awful but seemed hyper. A glass was in her hand.

 _Great_.

"Did you not hear me knock the door?" I say walking over to her. I grab her before she falls.

"You knocked?" She slurs as I let her go. "Huh?"

"I think you should sit down," I say as she sways again causing me to yet again grab her.

"I think I'm fine here," She slurs swinging her glass in the air.

"How much have you had to drink?"

She looks at me confused. Okay Maya was not a smart drunk.

"How many glasses Maya?"

"Schnapps."

"Okay, I'll take that as a lot," I say taking the glass off her. "I think it's time you went to bed."

"My schnapps!" She says making a feeble attempt for the glass but stumbling. I grab her and lift her easily. She giggles. "Ohhh big strong man lifting me."

I roll my eyes and carry her into her bedroom. I take off her hoodie and shoes and put her under the covers tucking them around her.

"Go to sleep," I say.

"Not tired."

"Don't care," I say. "Go to sleep."

"Can't. The dreams will come," She slurs.

"Dreams? What dreams?" I ask.

"Of the accident. Of my parents," She whispers. The giddiness was now gone and replaced with seriousness. "Scared to sleep. Alcohol makes me numb."

"Awk Maya," I say. "Would you be able to sleep if I stay?"

"I can try," She mumbles. "I'm so tired but so scared."

"I know," I say sitting up beside her kicking off my shoes. I wrap my arms around her and she snuggles into me. "Sleep Maya."

Ten minutes later Maya is fast asleep every so often flinching. I look at her and realise that I may have feelings. Which is new for me. Really new.

I sigh as I pull out my phone. Now was not the time. I quickly dial the number for Rorish.

"Hello?" Her voice comes across the speaker.

"Hello, it's Mario," I say. "I'm with Maya."

"And…"

"She's not really in a state for me to leave her right now," I say. "I just managed to get her to go to sleep."

"What happened?"

"She tried to drink to forget…" I sigh thinking about how dangerous it was for her to drink with her spleen. "Gosh she could have severely hurt herself."

"We're lucky we got to her," Doctor Rorish says. "Stay with her and keep me updated. She's probably gonna wake up with a killer hangover depending on how much she drank. We'll address the why tomorrow and make sure she doesn't do it again."

"What about my shift?" I ask.

"I'll deal with that," She says. "Look after her and I'll see you next shift. Bye Mario."

And with that she hangs up.

I look at Maya who was still sound asleep. I rest my forehead on hers and restrain from sighing in case I woke her. The nightmare she must be living through. I had to protect her. I just didn't know how.

I close my eyes and hold her closer as I drift asleep.


	39. Chapter 39: HE LIVES IN YOU

**_Chapter 39:_** HE LIVES IN YOU

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I wake with a start from another nightmare but the sudden jerk causes pain to go crashing into my head. I felt awful. My stomach churns, my head aches and I feel shaky and dizzy. Oh gosh last night. I am such an idiot. I groan remembering the events from last night regarding Mario.

Speaking of Mario… Where is he?

I slowly sit up and regret it almost immediately as nausea hits me hard. I bolt out of the room and into the bathroom and just about make it to the toilet. I hear movement behind me as I finish and I groan. I was so stupid.

"Good morning!" Mario's voice comes from behind, loud and overly happy. I flinch away, the ache in my head worsening. "I'm glad to see you awake!"

"Please use your inside voice," I groan.

"But this is my inside voice!"

I give him a dirty look as I stand up and rinse my mouth out at the sink. I'm shaking slightly but I know that'll pass soon enough.

No more alcohol.

"It's time we talked about last night," He says now talking quieter.

"Can I at least get a shower and some paracetamol first?" I mumble.

He nods and pats me on the back. I shakily go back into the bedroom and get out a change of clothes. I felt awful but I push past it.

I was never drinking again.

-CODE BLACK-

I sit down next to Mario on the sofa with a mug of tea in my hands and I've had paracetamol. I'm in fresh clothes and no longer smell heavily of alcohol. I didn't feel as miserable anymore.

"So what happened last night?" Mario asks.

"I needed to forget," I whisper.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened that night?" He says at the same volume as my response.

"I watched them die. I watched my parent's die at the age of fifteen," I whisper.

"Awk Maya…"

"That girl in centre stage had the exact injuries as I did after the accident," I whisper fighting back tears. "How the hell did I not die? Why did she have to?"

"Because you weren't supposed to," He says putting my face in his hands. I lean against them. "I don't know why that girl died but she did. Everybody has their time."

I shake my head standing up as I push him away. The panic was setting in again so I start to pace to push it back. Stay calm. Stay calm.

"That's not the only thing, is it?"

"No, it's not," I stutter out. "That girl… She shouldn't have…"

"But she did Maya," Mario says getting up.

"I don't mean that. I mean she shouldn't have died in that _way_ ," I say running my hands through my still damp hair. "When you're in that car with the glass flying in all directions you're so scared. All you can think about is what was going to happen to you. It's scary and cold and when you watch your parents die… That should not have been that girl's last experience!"

My voice had slowly gotten louder and the tears were now running freely down my face. Mario engulfs me in a hug and strokes my hair trying to calm me down. But I barrel on.

"My dad was a soldier… He survived two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He survived that but died in a car accident. A drunk driver got him when he survived that," I whisper into his chest. This is the first time I've voiced this and I was finding it hard to keep it together. "My mom was just a lawyer. They were… They were too young."

I finally break and let out a sob causing Mario to hold me closer. I nuzzle into him further and try desperately to calm down.

 _Deep breaths. Deep breaths._

"Maya, I don't know how to help but I'm here. And I am not going anywhere. I promise you that now," He whispers.

After a while I calm down but I now knew one thing.

Mario was here and he was not going to leave. He was not Deeken.

-CODE BLACK-

Doctor Rorish tore me a new one when I showed up for my shift. She gave me an in depth talk about the dangers of drinking with Asplenia, the affects it could have on my liver due to my spleen and how stupid it was for me drinking the amount I did when I was alone. I listen to her knowing how stupid I had been. Also due to the fact I was still slightly hungover and really did not want her to yell at me.

But how she finishes the lecture surprises me.

"You're not alone Maya. I'm here if you need to talk," She says pulling me into a hug. "I understand what you're going through."

And with that she left to deal with a patient.

-CODE BLACK-

To say it had been a rough shift was an understatement. There had been a home invasion with the entire family affected, two heart attacks, a stroke and a patient with severe breathing difficulties which we presumed was pneumonia. Day light had just broke and I couldn't wait to go home and sleep.

I look up from beside Mario and Angus when I hear music coming from one of the beds. When I spot where it's coming from I find the cast of the Lion King. My jaw drops. I hadn't seen them since 1997.

"Ingonyama nengw' enamabala," They sing.

The last time I'd seen them I was seven; my dad had just came back from a mission and it was my birthday. He knew I loved the Lion King.

I swallow hard pushing the emotions back.

"You okay?" Mario asks.

"Uhm, yeah. I'm fine," I mumble listening to them.

"Night… And the spirit of life. Calling mamela iyo…" The main singer sings. "Wait! There's no mountain too great! Hear these words and have faith. Have faith."

This was the first time since the accident since I had heard the Lion King. It had been too painful to think about. But for some reason hearing this song here and now didn't bother me.

"He lives in you! He lives in me! He watches over everything we see!" The singer continues. "Into the water… Into the truth… In your reflection… He lives in you… He lives in you… He lives in you… He lives in you… He lives in you…"

The lyrics this time mean something else than the first time I heard them. Just like Mufasa died in the movie and the musical, my parents had died. And just like Mufasa lived on in Simba, my parents lived on in me.

And in that moment part of me heals.

For the first time in nearly eleven years part of the wall crumbles and part of the pain heals.


	40. Chapter 40: CHRISTMAS DINNER

**_Chapter 40:_** CHRISTMAS DINNER

 ** _Maya's POV_**

November goes by relatively quietly. The only main incident was Nurse Salender having a heart attack. It shook the whole hospital but thankfully he recovered and came back to be the Mamma we all love. It was like he was never gone and like he had never had a heart attack but the memory remains fresh in our minds despite knowing he'll get better.

Mario and I get closer and go on a lot more dates and even do private things *ahem* a few more times. We're not hidden about it and I can tell Deeken hates it. He sulks in the background but it was his own fault. He had his chance.

I love Mario. Deeken would have to deal with that.

Time ticks by just like it always does.

 ** _December 18th_**

"Ready to go?" Mario asks from behind me. His arms loop around my waist and I smirk.

"I would be if someone would stop distracting me," I giggle.

"I think you look fine," He says.

"With only one eye of makeup on?"

"Fine but hurry up or we'll be late," He says.

"Since when do you care about being on time," I say rolling my eyes as I put on my eyeliner.

"You didn't seem too concerned about being on time earlier," He smirks back playfully.

I roll my eyes again and then quickly finish my mascara. I put the items in back into my makeup bag and then into my handbag. I run a brush through my hair and then put on my brown brogues. I was already wearing a simple black skater dress and I was planning on putting on my brown leather jacket.

"I am now ready," I smile sweetly.

"Great," Mario smiles putting his arms around my waist. "Have I told you you're beautiful?"

"Not today," I giggle and then kiss him. I have to force myself to pull back before we get carried away. "We really should go."

"It's only the Christmas work dinner," He says still holding me.

"Which we have to attend," I say sternly.

He sighs a fine and we finally make it out the door.

The dinner was quite low key. It was a three course at a restaurant the hospital choose and it was nice enough. Sit between Mario and Christa and have Doctor Rorish in front of me. Doctor Hudson, Nurse Salender and Doctor Rorish all insist that we call them by the first names for the night. The only ones not drinking were Doctor Rorish, Christa, Nurse Salander and I. All four of us were either designated drivers or medically unable.

"So what are you doing over Christmas?" Christa asks.

"I'll probably see Gran and Gramps but I have the night shift so…" I say. "What about you?"

"Probably going to see my parents but like you I'm on the night shift," She says. "Why aren't you off seeing your aunt in Chicago?"

"Because Chicago at Christmas is nuts," I chuckle. "I'm saving the vacation time for the end of January. Less busy."

"Fair enough," Christa replies as our food arrives and we fall into silence.

We're barely fifteen minutes in before pagers start to go off.

Doctor Rorish's and Doctor Hudson's are the first to go off. Then Nurse Salender. Then Christa, Malaya and I. Then Angus and Mario. I pull mine out of my handbag and read the page.

 _Building collapse. All available personal needed_.

We all look at Rorish and Hudson for guidance just as Doctor Rorish's phone goes off.

"This is Doctor Rorish," She says then pauses. "I can have three doctors on site. Four doctors need to go back to the hospital to sober up."

She then hangs up.

"Christa and Maya you're with me. Jesse I need you to drive the other four to the hospital to sober up and there you'll get more instructions. We'll worry about the cars here later," She says putting her phone away.

"What about our clothes?" Christa asks referring to the fact all three of us were in dresses.

"There will be overalls and scrubs for us on site. Now time to move," She replies. "Let's go!"

And with that we abandon our dinner and head to the accident.

When we arrive at the site, we arrive to chaos.

We're handed a change of clothes quickly and told to get changed before orders are given. In just under five minutes I'm dressed in brown cargo pants, a grey and black jacket, black t-shirt and hiking boots. I pull on my high vis vest as I walk over to man tent. I'm grabbed as soon as I walk in.

"You! How tall are you?" One of the EMTs asks. That was a weird question.

"Five foot four inches," I reply confused.

"Finally someone small enough to get in that area," They say. "My name is Nathan Young and I'm an EMT. What hospital are you from?"

"I'm Doctor Maya Cameron from Angels Memorial," I say. "What is it that you want me for? I'm not sure how much I can help. I'm only a resident."

"Where's your hospital's fellow?"

"Over there. She's called Doctor Rorish. Maybe…"

"Doctor Rorish can you come over here please?" He says. She's over immediately.

"What is it?"

"We need your resident. She's the only one small and skinny enough to get through to a patient that's trapped in a particularly badly collapsed area," He says. My jaw drops. I'm claustrophobic. "We need someone on the outside directing her while the firefighters try to get in."

"Of course. Maya do you think you can do this?"

"I'm not good with small spaces," I stutter out.

"Is that your only reason?"

I nod.

"Then you're going in," Doctor Rorish says ending the matter.

I take a deep breath. I was not going to enjoy this.

"Are you sure I can get through there!?" I exclaim looking at the incredibly small space they wanted me to squeeze through. I was now kitted up with a med bag with everything I needed to stabilise the patient and a tool belt. I wore a helmet with a head lamp attachment and had glow sticks and torches in the bag also.

"Maya, even I could probably lift you and you're the same size as me!" Doctor Rorish says.

I take a deep breath and lift the med bag. I carefully try to get the bag through the top but the gap is too small. It's just big enough for my head to get through. _Stay calm_. I then put it on the ground and push it on through the gap. I then squeeze into the gap with some difficulty. It was tight but I can do it. I suck in my stomach and push through scrapping my hands and neck on the concrete. The helmet catches on the rubble and I can't get past.

"Can you get through?" Doctor Rorish asks.

"The helmet needs to come off," I say. "Can't get through."

I take it off and put it on top of the med bag. I keep pushing on through but the panic hits me in waves. I really hate small spaces. I pause for a minute to get my breath and to calm down. Use your calming mechanism.

"She asked me Son, when I grow old, will you buy me a house of gold? And when your father turns to stone, will you take care of me?" I sing under my breath as I push on.

It's slow work but I finally break through the gap a couple of minutes later. I take a deep breath as I put the helmet on, switching on the light. It was practically pitch black. I push through the dusty atmosphere, coughing slightly.

"Hello?" I say. "Anyone in here? I'm a doctor. I've came to help."

"Over here."

A weak voice comes from my right in a small room blocked slightly by a broken door frame. I duck under and look around. I find the person immediately. They have their leg stuck under some rubble and I walk over to them. The room has no windows, only one entrance and seems to be a kitchen. There was no obvious way of getting us out.

"Hello my name is Doctor Maya Cameron," I say bending down and checking her pulse. It was strong. I quickly move to her leg. "I'm here to help. Can you tell me your name?"

"Casey Anderson. I was starting to think help wasn't coming," She says. I could hear the fear and pain in her voice. "Ouch."

"Sorry," I say as I check her leg carefully. It only seemed to be broken. No blood loss. "Casey I think your leg is broken. I can't see any cuts or other wounds so we don't need to worry about blood loss from your leg. Can you tell me where else hurts? Do you have any allergies?"

"Everywhere really and I have no allergies," She says as I pull out a torch from the med kit so I can examine her more closely. "A lot of rubble landed on me from the ceiling. My back, torso, thighs, right arm, chest and head hurt the most."

"Okay," I say looking up to see a hole in the ceiling. I restrain from whistling as I pull on gloves. "I'm going to examine you, to check your injuries. I need you to stay as still as possible. Okay?"

"Okay."

I move the torch up and down her thighs to find her jeans ripped quite a fair bit. There was severe bruising and no breakages. I then move to her torso to find a series of lacerations with some rubble stuck in it. There's also severe bruising which could be internal bleeding. Crap. That would be the pain source then. I then move to her arm to find it dislocated. I set down the torch and take a deep breath.

"Now Casey it's important you stay still for this," I say. "I'm going to check your neck and back for spinal cord injuries. Understood?"

"Understood."

I slowly hover over her in a crouch position without putting weight on her and reach under her and apply light pressure on her back and check each vertebra. There's nothing broken but from the flinching there seems to be some bruising. I move to her side again and quickly check her neck and chest.

"No spinal cord injury," I smile. "You do seem to have some bruising or a sprain though as well as a chance of broken ribs. I'm going to check your head now which will involve shining a light in your eyes and checking eye movement."

"Okay," She says as I pull out the smallest torch in the bag.

"How old are you Casey?" I ask as I check under her head. No deformities, bumps or bleeding.

"I'm nineteen," She says as I shine the torch on her forehead. She squints slightly.

Laceration to head. Still bleeding. Nothing on rest of the face.

"Wouldn't have guessed," I smirk as I check her pupil response. Good dilation. "Follow the torch please."

"I would say the same for you," She says following the torch easily. "You look a bit young to be a doctor."

"I'm twenty-two," I reply. "I get that a lot. I did an accelerated medical degree so I', a bit younger than most doctors at my skill level. Your head injury seems more superficial. Minor concussion at most but you're talking to me so I'm not concerned. However I am concerned about your shoulder and you being on this floor with all the dust. I'm not going to be able to stitch anything or clean anything down here. But first I need to reset your shoulder. Now it's going to hurt…"

"Do it," She says. "I know how dangerous a dislocated shoulder can be."

"Okay," I say grabbing her arm. She looks away. "One… Two… Three…"

I reset it and she lets out a scream. I whisper a sorry and quickly get to work with getting the rubble and metal bar off her leg. Again she lets out a yell when I clear the concrete but she only whimpers when I get the bar off. Well not without difficulty. I mumble a sorry as I scan the room for someone to move her. I see a table and walk over and quickly clear it before check how sturdy it was. It seemed to be.

Good. Time to move.

I sit on the ground next to the table I have Casey on. I had her stabilised and bandaged up. Her leg was in the best state possible in the current situation and her torso was getting progressively more painful. At the moment she was a trauma level four but if help didn't come soon she'd be a level five.

I'd informed Doctor Rorish about this and she said help was on the way.

I take off my helmet and wipe the dust off it. At the minute Casey was telling me about her family. She had two brothers in the military, a dad who was a doctor and a mother who was a lawyer. I was keeping her talking to keep her awake.

I listen carefully and respond respectively. Five minutes later I get up and check her drips and that's when I hear the creaking around the door. What is that? I take a few steps closer to get a better look.

 _BANG!_

My head hits something on the way down, there's a clunk and a crack and there's an almighty pain in my leg. I let out a yell and try to get up but can't.

 _Crap._

Everything goes black.


	41. Chapter 41: TRAPPED

**_Chapter 41:_** TRAPPED

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I come round slowly to yelling and crackling. My head pounds, my vision blurs and everywhere hurts. I cough slightly causing pain to hit my chest and blink a few times to get my vision to focus.

"Doctor Cameron!? Doctor Cameron are you okay?"

Casey's voice fills the room and I flinch away from the sound. Focus.

"I'm okay Casey," I stutter out. "But I need to keep your voice down for me. It may cause more collapses if we talk to loudly. Did you get hit by anything else?"

"No. I think you got the brunt of it," She says. "How badly are you hurt?"

"I'm not sure yet. Do you know how long I was out?" I ask as I struggle to get up. I grab the first torch I see and look about. The door was now completely blocked. "That's our exit gone."

"A few minutes. I counted to sixty three times," Casey says. That a girl.

I look around and desperately try and figure out where my radio was. I pat myself down with my good hand as something was wrong with my right arm and find it on my belt. Doctor Rorish's voice comes through the speaker sounding panicked.

"Maya!? Maya can you hear me!?"

"I'm here Doctor Rorish," I say wincing as I push myself against the wall at an angle I can see Casey.

"Maya! Are you hurt?"

"Yeah, I haven't done an assessment yet though," I say shifting slightly which causes pain to shot up my left leg. I let out a whimper. "I do have some form of head injury though as I blacked out for a few minutes. Do you have any idea what caused the collapse?"

"The Firefighters think that it was them trying to get through," Doctor Rorish says. "This now means that we will take longer to get to you guys. How bad was the collapse?"

"Well the only entrance is completely blocked now," I say. "You're going to have to get in here soon. There's a hole in the ceiling that's pretty big so you may be able to get through there but with Casey's wounds and now me…"

"How severe are your wounds?"

"Give me a second," I say. "Casey you still awake?"

"Yeah," She says.

"I have a job for you."

"Of course," She says. "How can I help?"

"I need you to hold down this button on the radio while I check my injuries. I'm going to call them as I check to Doctor Rorish. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," She says taking the radio and pressing the button.

I gently reach up with my left hand a check the back of my head. No deformities, cuts or bumps. I then run my hand over my face and find a cut on my hairline that was bleeding still.

"Cut on the hairline; still bleeding," I say as I put the torch in my mouth.

I run my hand over my right shoulder gently and restrain from crying out but tears do come. My shoulder was definitely dislocated and I could feel rubble lodged into the back of it. I pull my hand back and shine the torch on it to find blood. Crap.

"Dislocated shoulder and puncture wounds that are still bleeding to the back of my shoulder."

I put my torch down for a second and press lightly on my stomach to find no pain or damage. I then press down on my chest. That's when I do yell out slightly. I swallow it back and take a few deep breaths which make the pain worse.

"Broken ribs on the right side," I whimper.

"Maya you good?" Doctor Rorish asks.

"Yeah," I say as I shift into a slightly more comfortable position.

I grab the torch again and then check my legs. My left leg has wood splintered into it and was bleeding. Nothing had been nicked or I would be unconscious by now. My right leg was fine bar some scratches.

"Puncture wound to the left leg but nothing nicked. Some scratches on the right," I say. "At the minute I'm probably a trauma level three but if anything gets infected I could go up to a level four."

"Can you stitch anything up at the minute?"

"I could maybe relocate my shoulder and stitch up my leg but I can't reach the back of my shoulder," I say. "Doctor Rorish the radio is going to have to go down for a second. Casey I need you to help with this."

I push myself across to the table and haul myself up using my left arm. I steady myself quickly and take a deep breath.

"Now Casey I need you to grab my right arm using your good arm okay. Like hooking the crook of your arm around mine," I say. Casey quickly does it. "Good just like that. Now I need you to keep your arm like that. Keeping mine steady. I'm going to use my left hand to push my shoulder into place. Understood?"

"Understood," She says as I put the torch in my mouth using it as a gag so I don't scream.

I quickly steady myself and grab my right arm just above my elbow. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. One… Two… Three… I push up as hard as I can with my left hand and get my shoulder set on the first try. I yell out but the torch muffles it a fair amount. I take the torch out quickly and try and catch my breath. I cling to the table hoping my legs don't buckle.

"Well done Casey," I say as I slowly move my right arm to regain circulation. It ached slightly but it was manageable. I grab the radio and hit the button. "Shoulder back in place. Gonna stitch up and clean my legs. What's your ETA?"

"The building is very unstable so it could range from a couple of minutes to a few hours," Doctor Rorish says.

Great.

-CODE BLACK-

About twenty-five minutes later I have my leg stitched up. It hurt with no form of numbing agent but I did it. Casey and I continue to talk keeping each other awake but after about fifteen minutes I noticed that there was now water in every area of the floor making my trousers get gradually soaked.

I pick up the torch again and scan the room. There was water coming out of the cupboard below the sink and I move over to it. I open the cupboard and freezing water comes gushing out. I gasp. Crap there's a burst pipe. There had to be a bloody burst pipe. It also had to be already freezing in here as it had to be the freaking coldest day in the year so far. Fantastic.

I look around and try to find somewhere for me to get out of the water but everything is either collapsed, structurally unsafe or not big enough. I grab the radio as I start to shiver.

"Doctor Rorish you need to hurry up," I say. "A pipe just burst and there's no where I can go to get out of the water."

"Is there a risk of hypothermia?" She says.

"Definitely."

"Doctor Cameron we can get people in there in two hours at the earliest," Someone says. I inwardly scream.

"Is there any way of getting in here sooner?" I say trying to stay calm. I was stuck in a confined space with very little light and it was now flooding. I feel Casey's eyes bore into me. "Casey is safe for now but the water is roughly below my knee. I can't be in this water for two hours."

"We'll try," The man says sounding annoyed. I was ready to slap him.

"You know what you need to do when it comes to hypothermia?" Doctor Rorish asks.

"Yeah," I say as I sit back down on the block I was using, the water submerging my calves.

It was going to be a long few hours.

-CODE BLACK-

By the time forty minutes go by I was shivering violently. My head was pounding and my breathing was fast. I felt weak. My head is on my knees as I talk to Casey.

"So what do you want to do when you're older?" I whisper.

"Civil engineer," She says. The water had started to slow but it had submerged my waist.

"Wow," I say. "My aunt's husband is a civil engineer. He loves it."

"How much longer do you think they're gonna take?" Casey asks. I can hear the fear in her voice.

"I'll ask," I say taking the talkie off my vest. I hit the button fumbling slightly. "Doctor Rorish how much longer?"

"At least an hour," She says. "How are you two doing?"

"Casey is still stable. I'll be changing her drip soon," I say but I have to stop talking to catch my breath. Crap.

"Maya?" Doctor Rorish says. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I slur slightly. "Just a bit breathless. Tired. Doctor Rorish please hurry."

"Please Maya hang in there," She says. "And call me Leanne…"

"They'll be at least an hour," I tell Casey.

"Okay," She replies. "Doctor Cameron are you okay?"

"Yeah Casey," I say. "I'll be fine. Just worry about yourself. How's the stomach?"

"The pain is at its worst," She whispers. I restrain from swearing.

We were in trouble.

-CODE BLACK-

At the hour and a half mark I stop shivering. I knew I was in no state to make decisions, my co-ordination was deteriorating, and all I wanted to do was sleep. Casey wasn't in a good state either. I was now certain she had internal bleeding and her condition was getting worse. I was going to have to give her more meds.

"Casey I'm going to give you something to slow down the internal bleeding," I say getting up with great difficulty and grabbing the med kit. She gives me a weak nod.

I open the bag and search for the pradaxa. I find it quickly but due to my lack of coordination I can't get it open. I grab the talkie.

"We have a problem," I say.

"What's wrong Maya?" Doctor Rorish says.

"Leanne I stopped shivering. I can't give Casey the meds as my coordination is shot," I say. I was gripping the table just to stand. "I have an idea but it could kill me. But if I don't do it both of us will die."

"We won't be able to get to you for another half hour at least," She says concern lacing her voice. "What's the idea?"

"I need something to jumpstart my circulation," I stutter out. "I'm thinking of using adrenalin. But if it goes the other way it will stop my heart."

"How long does Casey have?"

"About twenty minutes if I can't give her this medication."

"And yourself?"

"Ten."

"Do it," She says.

I take a deep breath as I pull out the adrenalin and take the cap off. I flick the needle a few times before I stab it into my leg and press the plunger down. Nothing happens for a few seconds but then I feel the affect. I start to shiver again and I feel like my blood is pumping faster than normal like when I sprint.

"It… It worked," I stutter into the radio. My head was spinning but I had coordination semi back. "Giving first dose now."

I take the medication out of the bag and prep the needle. I flick the needle a few times and then find the vein. I give it to Casey quickly and set the needle in the disposal bag. I look at my watch and wait for two minutes to go by. I was shaking and my head spins but I force myself to stay awake. The time finally passes.

"Giving second dose."

I prep the second needle and inject it. I dispose of the needle in the bad and ziplock it.

"Doses given. Both rounds of Pradaxa given," I say but my head was starting to spin and the room blurs. I grip the table tighter. "Leanne bad adrenalin affects."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to…"

My legs buckle and everything goes black.


	42. Chapter 42: HYPOTHERMIA

**_Chapter 42:_** HYPOTHERMIA

 ** _Rorish's POV_**

We finally get into the building twenty minutes after we lose contact with Maya. I'm second in after the first firefighter. I see Maya and Casey immediately. Casey looks at me terrified and desperate and I see why automatically. She was holding Maya up by the scruff of her jacket to avoid her falling head first into the water. Strong girl.

"She passed out after giving me the medication," Casey cries. "I grabbed her before her head hit the water."

"You did great Casey," I say as I grab Maya. "You can let go now. I'm Doctor Rorish and behind me is Doctor Lorenson. Doctor Lorenson is going to help you while I deal with Maya. Christa…"

I move slightly still holding Maya up to allow Christa access to Casey. That's when I hear a small moan come from Maya as she stirs. I bend down in front of her immediately, soaking my trousers in the freezing water. Gosh she had been in this for two hours.

"Maya? Can you hear me?" I say.

"Huh?" She mumbles. She was completely out of it. "Rorish?"

"Yeah it's me," I say. "You are such a cowboy you know that?"

"I learnt a lesson today…" She slurs as I put my hand on her forehead. She was like ice.

"What was that?" I smirk as I continue to check her vitals.

"Adrenalin does not treat hypothermia."

"I could have told you that," I chuckle. "Gosh you're freezing."

"And I could have told you that," She slurs back. I roll my eyes.

"Do you think you can stand?"

"Maybe," She whispers. "Tired."

"Okay," I say as I put her left arm around my shoulders. "We'll take it slow. Mr Young please bring the med kit with you."

We move slowly and on the first attempt her legs buckle. She lets out a whimper as her ribs are banged about. The second attempt was more successful but Maya was unsteady. She walks slowly clinging to me but she was struggling.

"You're nearly to the stretcher. Just a few more metres," I say.

When we finally make it Maya practically falls onto the stretcher. I quickly help her up and raise the sides. Her head lolls to the side and she starts to attempt to take off her jacket. She was in Stage Three hypothermia. Crap.

"Maya, calm down. You can't take that off," I say as Mr Harper comes over. This was going to be fun. "Mr Harper, help me restrain her please."

"No!" Maya yells out as we grab the first restraint.

She swings her arms up and hits Mr Harper square in the face. It's hard enough that he stumbles back and it takes all I have not to tell her well done as I strap her arms down. I then quickly strap her legs down.

"Where's Casey!?" She yells.

"Maya, stay calm!" I say sternly. "Mr Harper get over here and do your job!"

He darts over shocked at my outburst and helps me wheel her into the ambulance.

-CODE BLACK-

I step through the curtain to where Maya was being treated. I find her awake and she seems a lot better that she was earlier. There is more colour in her cheeks and everything's bandaged. She has stitches on her hair line and I can see bandages sticking out of her hospital gown from her shoulder. She had a blanket wrapped around her but she was out of the woods when it came to the hypothermia.

"You look a lot better than you did earlier," I say. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. A bit of a headache but nothing I can't sleep off," She says. "Sorry for nearly decking you earlier."

"You remember that?" I say raising an eyebrow.

"I'll always remember the night I clocked Deeken Harper," She chuckles.

"He really did a number on you didn't he?"

"I was already guarded. He just created more walls to the already growing defences," She replies quietly. "How's Casey?"

"She's stable thanks to you," I smile. "You gave her the Pradaxa just in time. The surgical team were able to set her leg and stop the internal bleeding when she got here. Her head is stitched up, ribs on the mend and nothing in her shoulder was broken."

"Good," Maya smiles back. "She's a good kid. Studying to be a civil engineer."

"You did good Maya. Not a lot of doctors, even at my level of experience, are able to stay calm in those situations," I say. I didn't give compliments often but I gave them when they were due. "Your aunt would be proud."

"Well that's if she doesn't kill me first over the adrenalin," She says. "I'm starting to realise that was not a good idea. I'm still shaking. Who's been called?"

"Your grandparents," I reply. "And they said they'll call your aunt. They'll be here any minute. Actually I'm here to sign your release forms and to take out your drips and so on. Your injuries and symptoms are no longer life threatening so you can go home."

"Can I not just go back to work?"

"No. You're taking at least two days off. I'm giving you some painkillers as well as your fresh dressings," I say sternly. Gosh this girl was stubborn and from the look she was giving me she was about to argue. "I don't care that you want to work. You're giving at least two to three days for your leg and ribs to heal."

Before she can reply Mario comes through the curtain concern written all over his face. He gives Maya a look up and down before going over to her and checking her vitals. I see genuine love and concern in his eyes and I smirk. I never thought I would see Mario in love when he first came here. Shows how people change.

"Mario I'm fine," Maya says pushing him away. "Doctor Rorish is here to discharge me."

"Are you sure?" He says checking her eyes. Yet again she pushes him away. Typical doctor. "How's your head? Are you going home alone?"

"My grandparents are coming. I'm fine," She says again. "I'm about to be discharged."

"Mario can you let me discharge her please," I say. "I'll give you two some privacy then."

He nods and steps back.

-CODE BLACK-

Maya left the hospital about half an hour later when her grandparents came to get her. Everybody else including myself would be gone in a matter of hours. But I needed to talk to Mario before we left. I find him at the nurse's station.

"Mario a word," I say. He nods and follows me to a quiet area. "We need to talk about Maya."

"Okay…" He says confused. "What about her?"

"Look I'm doing this out of protection for my residents and out of the fact none of Maya's relatives are able to do this," I say. "Do you love Maya?"

His jaw drops. "I…"

"Yes or no. Do you love Maya?"

"I do," He says certainly.

"Then don't hurt her," I say sternly. "She's been hurt too many times already."

"I don't plan to. I love her Doctor Rorish," He says certainly and I believed.

"Good but believe me now if you hurt her you'll have her aunt, grandparents and myself on your ass, understood?"

"Understood."

"Now get back to work. We still have a few hours left."

Mario nods and leaves heading back to the nurse's station. I don't follow immediately but run my hand threw my hair and take a deep breath. I saw a lot of myself in Maya when I was her age. Young and naïve but incredibly guarded. I just hope she isn't as bad as me. It took me three years to let someone in again and even then I barely trust Cole.

I want to protect her but I know I can't. She would have to learn her own lessons.

I take another deep breath pushing the thoughts back and head back to the shift.


	43. Chapter 43: RETURN

**_Chapter 43:_** RETURN

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Three days later_**

I walk into the hospital at 7PM after three days off. My leg was much better, my head was almost healed with my side fringe covering the wound, my ribs no longer made me cry out when they got bumped into and my shoulder was no longer sore but just stiff. Christa was the first to see me. She raises an eyebrow.

"I thought you weren't due back for at least another couple of days," She says.

"I was told to stay off for at least three days," I say walking beside her. "I took the three days. And anyway I don't think I would have been able to stand another day being fussed over by my grandmother."

Christa smirks as we go up to the nurse's station but we're grabbed by Doctor Rorish before we can do anything.

"You two with me," She says. "Glad to see you back Maya."

"What have we got?" I say following her to the emergency doors.

"Cyclist. Severe injuries obtained on a mountain biking trail. We're bringing him straight to Centre Stage," Doctor Rorish says but she doesn't get to say anything else as the emergency doors burst open.

Oh my gosh.

On the gurney is a male in their mid-twenties with the part of the steam and headset of a bike impaled in their adomen. Their right leg and left elbow were broken and for safety there was a cervical collar on. There wasn't a lot of blood loss but that was probably because of the fact the bike was keeping the blood in.

Way to start back.

Christa hesitates and stumbles back but I grab the gurney helping lead it to Centre Stage. Christa quickly gets her wits about her and re-joins us at Centre Stage as we glove up. We move the patient quickly as the paramedics yell out stats.

"Jesse call the blood bank and get eight units of blood down here," Doctor Rorish says. "Maya I need you to call ortho and surgical."

"Yes Doctor Rorish," I say walking over to the phone. I quickly dial the number for ortho. "Hello this is Doctor Cameron. We need an orthopaedic specialist down in Centre Stage immediately. Broken left elbow and right leg as well as a chance of other fractures."

"On their way," The receiver says.

"Thank you," I say. I hang up and then dial the number for surgical. "Hello this is Doctor Cameron calling from Centre Stage. We need an OR as soon as possible. We have a patient with severe puncture wounds, broken bones and high chance of eternal bleeding."

"I'm sorry Doctor Cameron but we won't have an OR free for at least another hour maybe two," The nurse says. _Crap_.

"Please hold," I say and put the phone on my shoulder. I look at Doctor Rorish. "Doctor Rorish there won't be another OR for at least an hour."

"He doesn't have an hour!" She says before taking a deep breath. "Are there any surgeons free?"

"Is there anyone from surgical free?" I say done the line.

"We can have an anaesthesiologist and general surgeon down to you in five minutes," She says.

"Thank you," I say and then hang up. I walk back over to the treatment area and change my gloves. "There's an anaesthesiologist, general surgeon and orthopaedic specialist on route."

"Jesse page Niall," Doctor Rorish says. "Maya you have surgical experience so you'll be assisting as well. Everyone you're not going to like this but we're going to operate in here."

-CODE BLACK-

"Scalpel," Cole says and the nurse quickly hands it to him. He starts making the incisions. "Now when we remove this there is going to be a lot of blood. Maya I need you in the upper quadrants stopping the internal bleeds. Niall I need you in the lower quadrants. I'm going to remove this very slowly. According to the ultra-sound there's a lot of internal bleeding and the x-ray has told us that there is spine damage. Be careful."

We all go to our areas as Cole finishes the incisions. The nurses jump in and start to clamp open the patient.

"On my count. One… Two… Three…"

Cole slowly pulls out the bike part and that's when the bleeding properly starts.

"Bleeding in lower large intestine!" Doctor Hudson calls.

"Bleeding in the upper large intestine!" Cole calls.

"Severe damage to spleen non-repairable. Minor damage to left kidney, fixable," I say. "We're going to need to do a splenectomy."

"Are you able to do that by yourself?" Cole asks.

"I've only ever assisted with one before," I stutter out. _Stay calm. Stay calm._

"That's enough," He says. My jaw drops. "Maya is someone else going to have to do the procedure?"

"No," I say shakily. "I can do it. Scalpel please."

Here we go…

-CODE BLACK-

I stand at the nurse's station reading over a file. It was about twenty minutes after the surgery and the patient was stable. I was tired and emotionally drained and I still had about six hours of the shift left. We were in Code Red and I knew it wasn't going to be an easy one.

The splenectomy went well and I was able to repair the kidney despite my shaking hands and memories of dealing with a lack of a spleen myself. The patient would be okay. They would recover.

I'm about to go to my next patient but I'm grabbed by Doctor Rorish. This better not be another Centre Stage again.

"How did the surgery go?" She asks. Thank goodness.

"Well. It reminded me why I didn't go down the surgical route though," I reply.

"Well apparently Cole wants you in surgery," She says. "But I have no reason to worry about that. I know why you're here."

"And I have no intent to change specialisation," I say. I ignore the feeling in my stomach that screams at me telling me that I was good at trauma medicine but brilliant at surgery.

When I was doing my internship I had spent the most time in surgery. I learnt from Doctor Chase and Doctor Lambert. I did well there but it wasn't for me. Things went wrong in a moments notice and if you didn't find the problem fast enough the patient was dead. In emergency medicine you had everyone help each other to fix the patient. In surgery you specialised. And if something went wrong with your specialisation it was solely your fault.

I made my choice. I was no surgeon.

"I better get to this patient," I say but before I can make a move my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. I quickly answer it. "Hello?"

"Maya? Is that you?" A male voice comes across the receiver.

 _Elliot._

"Elliot!? What are you doing calling me?" I exclaim. Doctor Rorish who was about to walk of stops and gives me a concerned look. "I thought we agreed on no more contact."

"It's not me I'm calling about. It's Emma…"

My heart drops.

"What's happened?" I stutter out.

"Emma has been admitted into hospital."

"What are her symptoms?" I say switching into doctor mode despite the nausea in my stomach.

"It's her kidneys. She has a high fever. If it gets worse they'll have to put her on dialysis," He says. "It's being arranged for Emma to get transferred to LA County General. They have specialists that can treat her kidney issues better there. I just thought you would like to be aware of my presence in town."

"When will you be arriving?" I ask.

"Tomorrow evening."

"I'll visit as much as I can," I say. I had no clue where that came from but I will do it.

"Maya you don't have to do that…"

"I will and it's final. Thank you for calling me Elliot. I need to get back to my shift" I say bluntly. "Goodbye."

I hang up the phone and fight back tears. Crap. Emma was worse. No… I in a way felt responsible despite it being nothing to do with me. It was the disease making her ill. I just diagnosed her.

"Everything okay?" Doctor Rorish asks. I'd forgotten she was there.

"That was my uncle," I say quietly. "Emma was admitted with kidney problems. She's being sent to LA County for specialist care."

"How bad?"

"If it gets worse she'll need dialysis," I whisper as the tears start to fall. I shake my head. "I'm sorry. I need air."

"Maya…"

I push past her and into the lady's room. All I needed was ten minutes to compose myself. Which is what I do. Ten minutes I return to my shift and avoid Doctor Rorish which by some miracle I manage to do for the entire shift.

I work towards tea, a shower and bed. Yeah I wanted Mario to hold me and tell me everything was okay but he was going out for drinks with Angus. I can sleep this off.

When the shift finally finishes I'm one of the first to leave my head crowded with too many thoughts.

Home. Tea. Shower. Bed.

I repeat it in my head.

Home. Tea. Shower. Bed.


	44. Chapter 44: SICK

**_Chapter 44:_** SICK

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I walk into the children's ward with a teddy-bear and a Nickelodeon magazine. I was exhausted as I had just gotten off shift. But I was making good on my word. I push away my headache, the dull ache in my throat and general feeling of being unwell and walk into the room Emma was in. I find her parents with her.

"Hey," I say. "I can't stay for long but I said I'd visit. So here I am."

"Thank you for coming Maya," Elliot says. "I know how hard this is for you."

"I'd like to remind you again Elliot I'm here for Emma. Not you," I say. "Hello Emma."

"Doctor Cameron!" She says.

"It's Maya here," I smile. "How are you?"

"Sore tummy," She says.

"I'm sad to hear that," I say gently. "But the doctors here are going to give you some medicine to make that better."

"The doctors are nice here," She smiles. "They aren't as nice as you though. You do magic tricks!"

"Really?" Elliot smirks.

"Trick I learnt from Cuddy," I say. "I brought you a teddy and magazine Emma. I wasn't sure what you liked but I always liked Spongebob growing up so I thought that would be good."

"What do you say?" Mrs Cameron says.

"Thank you," She smiles but all of a sudden her eyes roll back and she starts to seize. I jump into action.

"Elliot go get help!" I yell chucking the magazine and bear aside and rushing to her bed. Elliot hesitates. "GO!"

"Yeah…" He stutters running out the door. Mrs Cameron starts to cry.

I lower the bed quickly and hold Emma down. With one hand I keep her steady and with the other check her temperature. I find what I'm looking for. A fever. I then check her stomach to find mass bruising. Her kidneys are failing.

The on call doctors come running in.

"I need five milligrams of diazepam!" I yell. "She has a high fever and heavy bruising on her stomach. Her kidneys are failing!"

"Who are you?" One of the doctors asks handing me the syringe. I take it quickly.

"Doctor Maya Cameron. I'm a trauma resident for Angel's Memorial," I say as I inject the syringe into her IV. The fitting stops soon after.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" The doctor who gave me the syringe asks. I step aside letting him take over.

"My aunt's an immunologist," I reply. "She has a high fever so I think she may have some form of infection which caused the seizure. Her kidneys seem to be failing from the bruising on her stomach. Tests should be run immediately to see if dialysis is needed."

"Thank you for the help Doctor Cameron," The female doctor says. "We'll take it from here."

"Not a problem," I say and then turn to Elliot. "I'll call back in tomorrow to see how things are. You have my number if you need me. I'm sorry for the abrupt exit but I have a shift at seven."

"I understand Maya," He says. "Thank you for helping her."

"Just doing my job," I say pushing past him. "Goodbye."

And with that I leave.

-CODE BLACK-

I walk into work feeling like crap. My head pounds, my throat was killing me and I was exhausted. I desperately hope no-one notices. But I worked in a hospital. Fat chance of that happening. Within five minutes I've been grabbed by Doctor Rorish.

"You look like crap," She says.

"Good to see you too," I snap. I then realise who I was talking to. "Sorry."

"Rough day? How'd it go with Emma?"

"Well I went all doctor in someone else's hospital when she had a seizure. Her kidneys are failing," I say. My voice is scratchy and I hope she doesn't notice.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Not a lot but that's nothing new," I say.

"If you feel any worse you're going home. You look awful. No arguments," She says. "Understood?"

"Understood."

-CODE BLACK-

Six hours into my twelve hour shift I felt like I was going to pass out. My headache was worse, my sinuses where messed up, my voice was near gone due to my throat and I felt nauseous. I reach the nurse's station and rest my head on my arms letting out a small moan. Christa is at my side in an instant.

"You really do not look well," She says sympathetically.

"I would argue but I really do not have the strength," I whisper.

"Doctor Rorish," Christa calls. Awk no. Doctor Rorish arrives in seconds.

"Maya you need to go home," She says checking my forehead. I already knew I had a fever as I was freezing. "I'll give you a lift. Go get your things from your locker."

"You really don't have to do that…" I say but I barely get the words out as I go into a coughing fit. By the time I stop my chest is killing me.

"No arguments," She says sternly. "Go get your things."

I don't argue.

I barely make it through my apartment door before needing to rush into the bathroom to throw up. I'm finished about thirty seconds later but I end up in another coughing fit before I can get up. It takes me a while to calm the coughing down and I wonder why I even tried to go into work.

"You good?" Doctor Rorish asks from behind me.

"Yeah," I mumble as I flush the toilet and then lean against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall.

"Your bike is in the hallway. I don't know where you usually put it," She says. "Go get changed. I'll find some painkillers for you."

"You don't have to do that," I say quietly as I clutch my stomach. "You've done enough already."

"I'm getting you painkillers, making sure you're okay and then going back to the shift. I'll have Mario come down when the shift is over to check on you," She says sternly and from her tone I know I wasn't going to win this argument. "Understood?"

I nod and it takes a lot more strength than I expected to get up off the wall. The room was spinning but I push it back. Gosh I had to get sick now of all times.

Ten minutes later I'm sitting on my bed in warm pyjamas. I was swaying and fighting to stay conscious but I knew if I didn't stay awake I'd get a lecture.

"Take these. They'll help with the headache and fever."

Doctor Rorish appears beside me and shoves the tablets and a glass of water in my hands. I take them quickly and set the glass down on the bed side table.

"I'm going to leave now but plenty of fluids and rest. However you should already know that," She says.

"Yeah," I mumble. She gets up as I lie under the covers but before she leaves I speak up again. "Merry Christmas Doctor Rorish."

"Merry Christmas Maya."

I'm out before I hear the door close.


	45. Chapter 45: PENEUMONIA

**_Chapter 45:_** PNEUMONIA

 ** _Maya's POV_**

By the time Boxing Day was over and the early hours of the twenty-seventh roll in I knew something was wrong. My fever hadn't gone down, my cough had progressively gotten worse, I couldn't keep anything bar toast down and that was a stretch and I felt generally worse than I had when I had gotten sent home from work. Normally I would brush this off as the flu but with the fever, excessive vomiting, chest pain and my spleen I was worried.

I sit up in bed but it takes a lot of effort. I don't particularly want to get up as I was freezing and shaking but I knew I had to. I grab my phone off the bedside table as I catch my breath and dial the number for my grandparents. I knew it was late but I didn't have a choice.

"Hello?" Gran's voice comes over the speaker sounding tired.

"Gran sorry for calling so late but I need help," I mumble.

"Maya!?" She exclaims and I flinch away from the sound. "What's wrong? Why are you calling so late?"

"You're aware that I've been sick for the past couple of days but I don't think it's something that's going to go away on it's own," I say. I stop for a few seconds to catch my breath before continuing. "My fever hasn't gone down, I can't keep food down and my cough is worse. I need to go to hospital but I have no way of getting there. Mario is working…"

"Maya of course sweetheart," Gran says. "If you, as a doctor, are admitting something is wrong, you need to go. I can be with you in about twenty minutes can you get yourself sorted by then?"

"Yeah," I mumble.

"See you soon."

I set the phone down and take a few shaky breaths before standing up. I get slowly changed into a pair of clean sweatpants, my favourite Harvard t-shirt and trainers. I gather my medication and pack an overnight bag. This only takes me fifteen minutes but I have to sit down. I feel breathless and I can't get it back. It takes me a few minutes to even vaguely feel like I could stand again but before I can I hear the front door open.

 _Gran_.

"I'm in the bedroom!" I say and she's in a matter of seconds. Her face drops when she sees me and I ain't going to lie, I looked awful,

"Awk sweetheart," She says sitting beside me giving me a hug. "Why didn't you call me sooner? Gosh you're boiling."

"Cold though," I mumble still shaking. "Where's Gramps?"

"In the car," She says. "Put a hoodie on and I'll grab your bag. There's a blanket in the car for you."

"Thank you," I say as I pull on my hoodie that I had set on the bed.

-CODE BLACK-

"Doctor Cameron I thought you were off sick. Doctor Rorish has told me to send you home if you come in," Lily, the receptionist, says.

"I'm not here to work," I say weakly. I was using the desk to support myself as I felt dead on my feet and I was still shaking. "I'm here as a patient."

"What's wrong?" She asks taking out forms.

"My fever won't go down, my cough has worsened to the point it hurts to breathe, I can't keep food down…" I begin but before I can finish I'm in a coughing fit causing my chest to hurt more.

"Doctor Cameron are you alright?"

"Give me a second," I choke out. Gran grabs my right elbow supporting me.

"I'm paging Doctor Rorish," Lily says. I try to stop her but I'm too busy trying to get my breath back. Five minutes later Doctor Rorish arrives. Her face drops when she sees me.

"Maya! I thought I told you to stay home!" She exclaims. I inwardly groan at having to explain it again.

"Not here to work. Here as a patient," I say quietly. "My symptoms are worse."

Doctor Rorish goes instantly into doctor mode. In less than five minutes I was on a gurney with Gran helping me fill out the forms. Every so often she would have to tap my arm to keep me awake but it was getting hard. By the time Doctor Rorish returns I'm half asleep with my head on Gran's shoulder and a blanket wrapped around me.

"Maya I need you to sit up properly," She says. I look at her weakly as I push myself up into a sitting position. I just wanted to sleep. "Are you tired?"

"Yeah. No matter how much I sleep I wake up more tired," I mumble.

"What are your symptoms?" Doctor Rorish says taking the thermometer off the wall and sticking it in my ear.

"A fever that won't go down that's causing shivers, a cough with chest pain and breathlessness, soreness and joint pains, tiredness, headache and vomiting. I can't keep any food but toast down and even then it's a stretch," I say listing my symptoms as medically as possible but I could feel another coughing fit rising up. "I would put it down normally as the flu but the fever and chest pain is worrying me with my spleen. I just wanted to be safe."

"Better safe than sorry," Doctor Rorish says taking the thermometer out. She frowns. "One hundred and four. It's a good thing you came. I'm going to check your chest now."

I nod and push myself into a better position. I follow the instructions as she checks me with the stethoscope. Breathe in and out. Saying the letter E. As she continues her expression darkens. Please don't let it be what I think it is.

But from the look in her eyes it is.

"I'm going to need to be admitted aren't I?" I ask weakly.

"You are," Doctor Rorish says. "I think you have Pneumonia so I'm recommending IV antibiotics and monitoring due to your Asplenia. We'll be running more tests to confirm. Is there anything else we should know?"

"I have an allergy to Penicillin and an AB blood type," I reply.

"Thank you. Now let's get you up to the ward," She smiles sympathetically. "Jesse can you come here please?"

I take a deep breath as the fear sets in. My spleen may not be able to handle this. My immune system was already weak after the hypothermia. Who am I kidding? It was probably the hypothermia that caused me to get the Pneumonia.

I close my eyes as I go into another coughing fit desperately hoping this wasn't as bad as it seemed.

-CODE BLACK-

I was lying on my side in the adult's ward. I was connected to an IV and being given fluids and antibiotics through it and now had a nasal cannula to attempt to calm my wheezy breathing. My stomach was worse and now churning. I'd thrown up a few more times (once in the x-ray room) but thankfully there was no longer anything left to expel. I was tired but the beeping of the heart rate monitor keeps me awake.

"Have you called Aunt Ali yet?" I whisper to Gran. Gramps was away to get them coffee.

"Yes I have," She smiles. "She's going to try and get down for tomorrow night."

"I should have got checked for Pneumonia as soon as the cough started," I mumble annoyed at myself.

"Don't think like that sweetheart," She smiles pushing my messy hair out of my face. "You're here now and getting treated. Now please try and sleep."

I nod as a dull ache starts to spread in my stomach but I was too tired to care. The beeping becomes less annoying as I begin to drift off. I'm out in a matter of minutes.


	46. Chapter 46: WORSE

**_Chapter 46:_** WORSE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

When I wake up again I'm in a lot more pain from when I went to sleep. My chest is killing me, my stomach feels like it's on fire and my breathing comes a lot harder than usual. I felt dizzy and couldn't focus.

 _I can't breathe_.

 _Crap something was wrong_.

"Gran…" I wheeze out before going into a coughing fit.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She says.

"Get the doctor," I say as I close my eyes to focus on my breathing. "Stomach hurts… Can't breathe…"

I hear her rush off and about thirty seconds later a doctor rushes in. I open my eyes and look on weakly to see Doctor Winters a young man not much older than me who had just finished his diagnostics residency.

"What's wrong Maya?" He asks.

"Can't breathe," I wheeze out thinking my breathing is more important than my stomach.

He automatically jumps into action and rolls me onto my back. It makes it harder to breathe and I start to cough. Eventually he manages to get a chest exam done and frowns. Within minutes the nasal cannula had been replaced with a full mask with straps keeping it attached to my head. I would argue but I was too weak. I looked like an idiot and sounded like Darth Vader but at least I was breathing easier.

"I'm suspecting pleurisy," He says. "Your lungs are already struggling with the pressure so that's why your breathing difficulties are worse. It should get better as the Pneumonia is treated."

My breathing has now calmed but I'm suddenly reminded of the sharp pain in my stomach. I clutch at it trying to get relief. But of course that didn't work.

"Maya does your stomach hurt?" Doctor Winters asks grabbing a white board. I had to communicate somehow. He hands it to me and opens the pen also handing that to me. I nod. "How badly? Out of ten?"

I hold up eight fingers.

"Do you feel disorientated?" He says as he quickly checks my temperature.

 _A bit_ , I write. It was messy but readable.

"One oh four," He frowns. "When did the pain in your stomach come on?"

 _Achy before fell asleep_ , I scrawl.

"That was four hours ago," He frowns. "I'm going have a look at your stomach okay?"

I nod and he quickly lifts the hospital gown. He presses gently on certain areas and I wince. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

"Can I get an Ultra-Sound in here?" He yells. I knew where he was going.

 _Peritonitis due 2 Sepsis?_ I write.

"That's what I'm thinking," He says as the scan arrives. "I'm doing a scan to see if there's any fluid in your abdomen."

I nod and let him but the gel on my stomach which causes me to flinch. The scan doesn't take long but his expression darkens as he runs the scan.

The words that come into my head are not child friendly.

"We need to do more scans but if it is Sepsis we'll have to take you to the ICU due to your spleen," He says. "According to your back history you've had had meningitis before, correct?"

 _Yh, 9 yrs ago_ , I scrawl.

"How bad?"

 _Sepsis induced organ failure_ , I reply.

"I'm going to take you to the ICU for safety," He says bringing the barriers up on the bed. "They should have done that as soon as you came in."

I inwardly groan. This just kept getting worse.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Jesse's POV_**

 ** _Several Hours Later_**

I walk into the ICU after my shift. I'd promised Leanne I would check on Maya as her shift wasn't over yet. The majority of the staff in the ER had heard she had been moved to the ICU due to complications and when I see her I immediately understand why.

Maya's face was pale and sweaty and was completely covered from below the eyes with a strapped breathing aid. Several drips were attached to her, presumably painkillers, fluids and antibiotics, and I could see the catheter attached to the side of the bed. She was half asleep but definitely conscious.

"You look awful," I say honestly.

She starts to write on what I presume is a whiteboard and holds it up. _Nic 2!_

Even in writing Maya was sarcastic. She is so much like Leanne.

"You know your mamma would never lie to you," I smirk and then turn my expression serious as I sit beside her bed. "How are you? And don't lie because your mamma will know if you are."

I watch as she wipes the board and scrawls her answer.

 _Like crap_.

"I'm not surprised. Have they set up a treatment plan yet?"

 _Antibiotics but if the fluid in my stomach doesn't go away on its own I'll need surgery_ , she writes.

"How are you holding up with the whole bed rest and full face mask situation?"

 _Restless mostly. I don't like bein still 4 long periods. The mask makes me feel like Darth Vader tho,_ she replies. I chuckle at her. She smirks through the mask but her expression quickly darkens.

"You're scared aren't you?" I ask. I get a nod. I give her a comforting look. "You're going to be alright chica. You have an entire ER praying for you, an expert team working to cure you and that mighty stubbornness that you are known for. Mario said he'll be right here when his shift is over. Your aunt will arrive later today."

Tears stream down her face. I pull her into a hug. I can't let her know how scared the ER is. How scared the doctors are. All we can do is put on a brave face because she knows the risks. And it's not looking good.

-CODE BLACK-

I grab Leanne from the nurses desk after I finish visiting Maya. We head to a quiet area and I know she knows that Maya isn't good.

"Pneumonia induced Sepsis which resulted in the infection spreading to her stomach resulting in Peritonitis. Pleurisy has also started. She's on heavy painkillers, fluids, strong antibiotics, a full face oxygen mask and has needed a catheter. If her stomach doesn't resolve itself, surgery will be needed," I say getting to the point.

"Jeez I didn't think it was that bad," Leanne says. "How's treatment going?"

"The Pneumonia and Pleurisy is responding to antibiotics well but the Sepsis and Peritonitis are still severe. It's hard to tell at this point."

"I should not have let her into that building," Leanne sighs rubbing her head. "The hypothermia must have weakened her immune system."

"Nobody could have known what was going to happen in that building," I say sternly. "Do not blame yourself."

"She is so much like me," Leanne whispers.

"That scares you doesn't it?"

"And it doesn't scare you?" She snaps back.

"No it doesn't."

"Who would want to be like me? I'm stubborn, guarded and cold…"

"But you're also caring, compassionate and strong," I say cutting her off. "If she's anything like you she'll pull through."

She rolls her eyes.

"I have a shift to get to," She smirks. "Bye Jesse."

"Bye Leanne."


	47. Chapter 47: FALLING

**_Chapter 47:_** FALLING

 ** _Mario's POV_**

I walk into the ICU about ten minutes after my shift. I was exhausted but I didn't care. I had to see Maya. I knew something was wrong when she came in on the twenty-fourth but I pushed it away. I shouldn't have. I had to make sure she was okay.

That's when I get a shock.

Maya was being wheeled quickly out by two nurses and a doctor.

"Maya?" I stutter. She reaches for my hand and I touch hers briefly but she can't speak due to the mask.

I stand staring at where she left in disbelief. I was told she was stable, that the Pneumonia was clearing. What the hell happened?

"The Peritonitis didn't clear with antibiotics fast enough," A voice says from behind me. "They're taking her to surgery to clear the fluid in her abdomen."

I turn to find a woman who seems to be in her mid-thirties. She has blue eyes and blonde hair, is of medium height and looks like an older version of Maya. I mean they're almost identical aside from hair length and height. Definitely a relative.

"I take it you're the guy Maya has been talking about for months?" She continues. I'm immediately hit by nerves as it dawns on me this is Maya's aunt.

"I am," I stutter out. I offer her my hand to shake. "Doctor Mario Savetti. You must be Maya's aunt. Nice to meet you despite the circumstances."

"I am. Doctor Allison Cameron and likewise."

"How bad is it?"

"At this point it's hard to tell," Doctor Cameron replies. "With this type of complication it can go either way."

"Did they how long she would be in surgery for?" I ask.

"At least a couple of hours," She replies running a hand through her hair. She must be scared out her mind.

Hell, I'm scared out of my mind.

"You make her happy you know," She says after a few seconds of silence. I raise an eyebrow. She pushes on. "It's been a while since I've seen her this happy and you're to thank for that."

"Doctor Cameron, I appreciate the sentiment but it's not me that's making her that happy. It's the people in the hospital," I say sincerely.

"She also told me you were modest," She smirks and I restrain from rolling my eyes. "Look Maya is guarded, even with me. She trusts you and I haven't seen that trust that she has in you in the ten years I've looked after her. Maya has fallen for you even if she hasn't realised it yet."

"Doctor Cameron…"

"Mario all I want to say is don't hurt her. She's been hurt enough and she's just about recovered from Deeken betraying her like that," She pushes on. "Maya may be guarded but when she opens up, she opens up and I think she's opened up to you. Promise me you won't hurt her."

"I would never want to hurt Maya. If anything I want to protect her. She's been the only one that's managed to break through my player façade. I don't want to lose that," I say. And it dawns on me quite suddenly that I mean it. I love Maya. "I love her Doctor Cameron. I love her."

"That's all I wanted to hear, after Deeken she hasn't been the same but with you she seems happy. She seems like her old self," She smiles. "And please call me Allison."

"Believe me if it wasn't illegal I would be beating the crap out of Deeken Harper right now," I say. "He had no right to do what he did to her."

"That I agree with," Allison says. "I like you. Don't mess this up."

"I won't mess it up."

And I meant it.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Maya's POV_**

It was about two days after my surgery and I was starting to make a swift recovery. I had now been taken off the full mask and put on a nasal cannula. The Pneumonia had mostly cleared up and the fluid had nearly cleared due to the surgery. The main issue now was that I still couldn't keep food down. All I could cope with was water so I was still on a drip for nutrition.

I was half asleep when Doctor Rorish comes in and I have to make an effort to sit up properly as I was still in quite a fair bit of pain from the surgery but to be honest it was an absent pain due to the meds.

"You look a lot better than you did when I last saw you," She smirks.

"Well so far I still can't keep food down," I say, my voice scratchy. I'd only been off that mask for a few hours. "But at least I don't have to wear that stupid mask anymore."

"I heard you told Jesse you were Darth Vader," She smirks.

"To be fair I was on a lot of medications, morphine being one of them," I point out causing her to chuckle. "And speaking of morphine I'm still on it, so you can't hold anything I say to you right now against me."

"How on earth are you still lucid?"

"Give it twenty minutes and I won't be," I chuckle. "Me and morphine are not a good mix."

"When are you getting released?"

"Once I can hold down food," I reply. "However if I can't in the next few days, I'll need a feeding tube."

"I take it you don't want that," She says.

"Yeah. From what I hear they kinda hurt going in and out."

Before she can respond Mario walks in holding a bear and a book. He goes bright red when he sees Doctor Rorish and shies away slightly when she raises an eyebrow. To be honest I find it adorable.

"I know you can't have flowers with your allergies," He says.

"Thank you," I smile as he sets the bear beside me and the book on the bedside table. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"Of course I did," He says. "The last time I got you flowers you had a rash the whole way up both arms."

I roll my eyes but I can feel myself start to feel a bit lightheaded and my thoughts become a bit more sluggish. That would be the morphine.

"Maya… Maya? You okay?" Doctor Rorish's voice comes through the haze.

"Huh?" I mumble confused shaking my head. "S'fine."

"And that would be the morphine," She chuckles.

"Told you so," I smirk.

Before Mario or Doctor Rorish can respond we hear someone enter the room and I look up to see Deeken holding flowers. I immediately stiffen as anger courses through me and try not to panic.

"Maya, I came to see how you were," He says.

"You're not welcome here," I say my words coming out stronger than expected.

"Come on, I was just checking how you were," He pushes.

"Deeken I'm not saying it again. You are not welcome in my life anymore. I made that clear to you when you first arrived here," I say. I could feel myself start to shake and I desperately try to push it back.

"Maya…"

"You heard her Mister Harper," Mario says stepping forward. "Now leave."

"I'm sorry Doctor Savetti but I think I know Maya better than you do," Deeken snaps.

"You know her better than I do?" Mario scoffs. "Well you're doing a bad job of showing it. Currently you are holding something Maya is allergic to. You are also going against Maya's wishes. If you really knew or cared about her you wouldn't have betrayed her while the two of you were still at college."

"Take that back!"

"Or you'll do what?" Mario shoots back. I see Deeken's fist clench and Mario notice. Oh crap. "You'll hit me? Please! You couldn't lay a hand on me! I'm twice your size and used to be an ex bartender. Try it and you'll be the one who needs help from the ER downstairs."

"Watch your mouth!"

"No, watch yours. Now Mr Harper I advise you leave now before I get security to do it for you," Mario says. I can see him shaking with anger and I hope he stays calm.

Deeken glares at Mario and then leaves the room leaving Doctor Rorish and I stunned in silence. It's a while before anyone speaks.

"I'll go and make sure he doesn't come back," Doctor Rorish says and with that she leaves.

"What an asshole! You really dated him? Maya I feel sorry for you. He's lucky I didn't swing for…" Mario starts to rant on.

"Mario, hey calm down," I say taking his hand. He stops. "That was incredibly brave and loving what you just did."

"He just infuriated me. When you started shaking I got so angry that he still has that effect on you that I just wanted to hit him," Mario blurts out. "I was so angry. I still am angry. I love you Maya and I don't want him to hurt you again."

"You love me?" I stutter out.

"I… I do," He says realising his words. "Maya it took me a while to realise but I do. I've been so worried about you the past week or so and I've been so scared of losing you. I love you Maya and I have no clue how to show that. It's scary and amazing and it's not something I've experienced before."

"Mario… I love you too," I say slightly dazed. "What you just did was amazing and to be honest extremely hot. I love you too and if I could I would kiss you right now but I can't for obvious reasons because ya know infectious disease."

He chuckles before kissing my head.

"We can kiss all you want when you get out of here," He mumbles into my hair.

"I'll be holding you to that," I smirk up at him.

That causes him to laugh and for the first time since I got Pneumonia I felt safe.

I feel safe.


	48. Chapter 48: SECOND CHANCE

**_Chapter 48:_** SECOND CHANCE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _A week and a half later_**

I pull my tracksuit bottoms on gently and then take the t-shirt Mario was handing me. He was smirking at me and I roll my eyes as I pull the t-shirt on.

"Stop staring," I smirk as I sit down and pull on my Converse.

"I can't help that you're hot," He smirks back as he sits beside me.

"You're too bad yourself," I retort back.

He responds by pressing his lips firmly to mine and I grin. I was no longer contagious; the pneumonia and pleurisy were long gone, I showed no sign of peritonitis anymore and was now able to hold my food down and the sepsis was gone. I could kiss him all I want… Just not here.

"Mario…" I sigh pulling back. "As much as I want this to continue we can't do it here. But when we get home however…"

"Definitely," He chuckles. "I love you."

"I love you too," I smile as I get up him following close behind.

We're barely able to lift my bag before someone comes into the room. It's Elliot and I just about hold in the groan in. He's followed by Aunt Ali who has an apologetic look on her face. Mario looks confused as I haven't actually introduced him properly. He knows Elliot is my uncle and we're not on good terms and that his daughter has Lupus. That's it.

"Elliot what brings you here?" I say as politely as I can.

"I came to give you an update on Emma and to see how you were. Emma was asking about you," He says.

"Could we have some privacy please?" I ask Mario and Aunt Ali. They both nod, Aunt Ali more reluctant but they both leave. I then turn to Elliot giving him my full attention. I knew he was here for more than an update. "I am nearly fully recovered as you can see. Another few days off work and with antibiotics and I'll be as fit as a fiddle. But Aunt Ali probably already told you that. And judging by your usual stunts you're probably here for more than just giving me an update on Emma. So Elliot why are you really here?"

"As you know Emma went into renal failure the last time you were there. She's stable but will now be needing dialysis on a regular basis," Elliot says. "The thing is Maine doesn't really have good care for adults receiving dialysis. It's even worse for kids. However LA County General has one of the best dialysis renal departments in the country. That's why I'm here."

"I don't follow…" I say. "Why did you have to come here and tell me this?"

"The thing is Maya for Emma to get the best treatment she can get she needs to be here. Christine and I have started to look into getting an apartment in LA. Emma needs to be here not Maine. We'll be moving here as soon as we find a place. I thought you should know as you may bump into us at some point. You're a medical professional and, even though I don't know what that involves, I'm sure you'll be at LA County at some point for a lecture or meeting or whatever," Elliot says seriously. "I know we are not on good terms but I am eternally thankful for what you did for Emma and how you visited despite our relationship. I think you have the right to know that there's a chance you can run into me."

"Thank you for the heads up," I say. He's certainly grown up. "Is that everything?"

"Look Maya I know you have a very strong dislike for me and it's well deserved but Emma and Christine like you a lot and I can see why," Elliot says. "In all honesty I messed up four years ago and I don't deserve a second chance because you've already given me plenty. But Emma would like to get to know you and Christine too. You've turned into this smart young woman and I hate what I did to you in the past. I don't expect you to give me a second chance but please give Christine and Emma one."

"Well you've certainly matured."

"I've grown a lot over the past four years. I dealt with my problems and admitted that I had made mistakes and needed help. That's how I meet Christine," He says.

"Elliot look, I can see you have changed but it's going to take a while for me to trust you again," I say seriously. "I'll agree to get to know Emma better but you are going to have proove yourself before I let you have a relationship with me. I'm twenty-five and have a stable but stressful job. I can't have more stress right now. You muck up again that's it. No more chances. I'll cut all ties with you and your family for good. Understood?"

He nods. "Thank you."

"Now if you don't mind I kind of want to leave the hospital as I've been here for over two weeks," I say. "Is there anything else I can't help you with?"

"No but thank you for a last chance Maya," He says handing me a piece of paper. "Here's my cell number for when you're ready."

"Thank you," I say taking the paper. "Goodbye Elliot."

And with that I leave the room my bag over my shoulder.

"So I have the day off and you have a couple of days, what do you want to do today?" Mario says as we enter my apartment.

"Food shop then lazy day on the couch?" I ask as he loops his arms around my waist, kicking the front door closed with his foot.

"Food shop is already done," He smiles. "Your grandmother did it yesterday when we heard you were getting out of hospital."

"Always thinking ahead," I smirk leaning against him.

"So I got these," He says. "Big Bang for comedy and Star Trek for action."

He holds up the DVDs and smiles. Gosh when did he get to know me this well… He knew The Big Bang Theory obsession but not Star Trek.

"When did you get to know me so well?" I smile. "I didn't even tell you about my Star Trek obsession."

"One I know your obsession with Zachary Quinto and two it's on your favourites list on Netflix," He smirks. "And I have nothing to fear about competition because you know Zachary Quinto swings the other way and Chris Pine is way out of your age range."

"Should I be concerned about competition from Zoe Saldanda?" I smirk back.

"Oh no. There's nothing you need to worry about. You know why?" He says quietly. I shake my head. "Because Zoe Saldana has nothing on you."

With that he pulls me into a kiss and I giggle against his lips. How did I get so lucky? It's not long before things get heated and I'm tugging at his shirt with him trying to hold me closer. So much for a lazy day on the couch.

"Lazy day can wait…" I mumble as he moves to my neck.

"My sentiments exactly," He says as he leads us to the bedroom.

Gosh I was glad to be home.


	49. Chapter 49: ANNIVERSARY

**_Chapter 49:_** ANNIVERSARY

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _A Couple Of Weeks Later_**

I stand quietly filling out a patient's release form. It was a busy shift with us being in Code Black. Today of all days had to be a Code Black. I also had to get three RVTA patients and one stomach pump patient. I'd only been here for two hours… I knew it was going to be a bad day but not this bad. I rub my head and hope there isn't a migraine in my future. I know I'll be out of commission for at least a day if that happens due to the amount I'm blocking at the minute.

It's not long before Mario is by side standing closer than a friend, our arms touching.

"Hey, you okay? You look awful," He says quietly enough so only I can hear him.

Gosh it's only 8PM… I have seven more hours of this.

"I'm fine," I smile hopefully in a convincing way. "Just tired."

"You sure?" He pushes. Stay calm. Keep a lid on it. "This seems more than just tiredness…"

"I'm fine!" I say a bit too sharply that even Jesse looks up to give me a concerned look. So much for keeping a lid on it. "Look I have to get this patient. Talk to you later."

"Maya…"

"Patient!" I say sternly as I walk away.

"Now Matthew, I need you to stay perfectly still while I put your shoulder back into place," I say. "Can you do that for me?"

The teenager nods.

"Now on the count of three, one…" I say.

I don't actually count to three and relocate the shoulder on one, it being a trick I learnt in med school and meaning the patient won't tense up. Matthew whimpers slightly but doesn't show any other signs of pain.

"And that's it in," I smile. "Sorry for the trick. It stops you from tensing up."

"It's okay," He says weakly. "I understand."

"Thank you Doctor Cameron," His mother smiles. "What's the next step in his treatment?"

"Well we'll need to do another X-Ray to check the shoulder is back in the correct position and if it is then we'll do a MRI to check for muscle damage," I say. "Then if everything checks out you can go home. I'll give you a prescription for painkillers and put his arm in a sling which it will need to stay in for about two to three weeks. Then you'll need to visit a physiotherapist who'll teach some exercises to get the shoulder better again."

"What is the recovery time?"

"It can take between twelve and sixteen weeks. You can usually resume most activities in two weeks but you should avoid heavy lifting and playing sports involving shoulder movements for six weeks to three months. However I am not an expert and the physiotherapist will give you better advice when it comes to it," I reply.

"When can I get back to football?" Matthew asks.

"Matthew with the way your shoulder is it may be next season until you're able to play again," I say seriously.

"What about my scholarship?" He says desperately directing it to his mother.

"Matthew…" She begins but trails off not knowing what to say.

"May I give some advice?" I say. She nods. "Look Matthew, losing football isn't the end of the world. When I was younger I had a lot of promise in relation to sport. Due to events I didn't get the scholarship I was lined up for but I did get a scholarship in another area. It's not the end of the world."

"You hear that?" His mother smirks giving me a thankful look. "You've got plenty of choices."

The boy smiles.

"Now I'll see about getting you some painkillers and see what the waiting list on the MRI and X-ray is like," I smile as emotions hit me hard. This boy was like me as a teenager. Losing your dream. I push the emotions back.

"Thank you doctor," The mother smile.

I give a nod and a 'I'll be back soon' and leave.

I rub my head as I sign Matthew's release forms and fill out his prescription. I was exhausted and it was about 12PM. Five hours to go… I push my emotions back and I'm just about to go before Christa comes up beside me. Oh great.

"Hey you okay? I saw you snapping at Mario earlier," She says. I inwardly groan.

"Just a bit of a rough day," I say lying but I smile to sell it. "I'm fine. Just tired. I'll be glad to get home."

"Okay but if you need to talk I'm here okay?"

I give her a quick nod and head towards Matthew again but I'm grabbed by Mario before I could make it a few steps away from the nurse's station.

You have got to be kidding me.

"Maya, I know you're not okay," He says. "You look dead on your feet, you've been snapping at people all night and you generally seem out of sorts. Now, what's wrong?"

"Mario if you want to know what's wrong, look at the date and figure it out yourself," I snap not hiding it anymore.

I was sick of hiding. After three RVTAs, two stomach pumps and telling a teenager his dream was over, my rope had snapped. I was tired, I'd missed my tradition for the first time in ten years for a reason not sedative related and all I wanted to do was curl into a ball to cry and sleep. I didn't want to talk about this.

I was in no mood.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mario says confused.

"Look, I don't have time for this. I have to go discharge a seventeen year old football player. See you later."

I break away from him and walk over to my patient.

I sit quietly on the roof of the hospital my coffee cup warming my hands. The weather was slightly cold but I didn't care. This was the only quiet place in the hospital and thankfully Christa told me about it after seeing me lose my temper with Mario. She didn't question me.

I needed a minute to catch my breath, to gather my thoughts. I couldn't do that in the chaos of what was downstairs.

I look up from my seat on the bench I was perched on (goodness knows how it go up here) to see Doctor Rorish walking out into the cold. She gives me a concerned look as she sits beside me. I probably didn't look the greatest if I'm entirely honest.

"Are you going to tell me why I found you on the roof?" She asks quietly.

"I needed to gather my thoughts. Catch my breath," I say. "It was too noisy down there."

"This is the anniversary of the accident isn't it?" She pushes quietly. I nod. "Awk Maya."

"I'm usually better at coping with it. Hiding it. But tonight…" I trail off.

"You wake up feeling like lead in a place so cold and dark you see no exit," Doctor Rorish says summing up my emotions perfectly.

"And it just keeps piling on top of you until you can't breathe," I whisper. "I can usually cope but after three RVTA patients, two stomach pumps and telling a teenage boy his dream of a sports scholarship was over… Gosh I didn't even get to do the tradition."

"Tradition?"

"I would look at the stars and light two candles in remembrance for them," I reply turning my head so she can't see the tears forming. "It always seems to be clear starry skies on the anniversary. Tonight seems to be no different."

"Good tradition," Doctor Rorish smiles. "Why stars?"

"They were the only good thing about that night. The sky was full of them. I like to think my parents got one last great view before they…"

I don't finish as the tears start to fall and I desperately wipe them away.

"It's been a long six years…"

"And it's been a long five," She says. "I'm sorry for your loss Maya."

"And I'm sorry for yours," I say as I push back the memories bombarding me.

I let the tears fall freely now and a small cry escapes me. _Crap_.

"Do you need to go home?" Doctor Rorish asks gently.

"No," I say shaking my head as I slowly start to gain control of my emotions again. "I can't go when we're in Code Black. I just need a minute to re-gather my thoughts and catch my breath."

"Okay," Doctor Rorish says getting up. "I'll give you ten minutes then I'll see you down there."

"Thank you," I say quietly.

"Just one last thing, you need to speak to Mario," She says. The guilt of what I said to him earlier hits me. _Crap_. "He looks like a lost puppy. Please just remember Mario's not the best at reading things. Give him a chance."

"Thank you," I nod.

And with that she leaves.

"We need to talk," I say as I fall beside Mario at the nurse's station at the end of both our shifts.

"I know," He says as I lean my head on his shoulder exhausted. "But not here. Somewhere more private."

"Agreed."

About forty minutes later we're back at my place sitting on the couch, Mario holding a cup of coffee and me a cup of tea. We were both exhausted from the shift but we had to do this.

"What did you mean when you said check the date earlier?" He asks softly.

"The anniversary of the accident is the twenty seventh of January," I whisper. "I usually cope better but yesterday just was not a good day or me. To be honest I still feel crap. I…"

I don't finish. I was too tired. All Mario does is take my hand telling me to only talk if I was ready. I take a deep breath.

"I had to deal with three RVTAs and two stomach pumps. I had to tell a teenager his dream was over…" I whisper as tears start to fall. "I can usually cope but this time so much went on in my head the noise wouldn't die down. There was just so much noise and I'm sorry for snapping at you. I should have just told you."

"It's okay," Mario whispers. "I know how hard it is for you to talk."

"But the thing is I need to talk to you," I mumble. "Because the only person that know that stomach pumps shake me and my tradition is in Chicago or are my grandparents. I need to talk to people here or I'm going to be alone."

"Why would stomach pumps shake you?" Mario says confused.

"When my parents died I was in a very dark place. I saw no point in living in a world without them. So at the age sixteen, a very unstable young me tried to use her anti-depression meds to get out of that dark place," I say feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'm a heck of a lot better now. I get bad days of doubt and hatred. Where I wake up feeling like lead but I know it's okay to feel that way. I know I will bounce back because I have you and Christa and Rorish and Angus and Malaya and Jesse and Hudson... I have a life here now and I love it."

Mario leans down and kisses my forehead. He then quickly takes the mugs away so he can pull me into a close hug. I practically melt into him and relax into his arms. I feel a bit better and I think to myself why I didn't tell him sooner if a hug had this affect.

"I will be here for you always Maya. If you need me to be a space hopper to bounce you back I will. I'll always be there to bounce you back," He says into my hair and I giggle at his analogy. "What?"

"Space hopper," I giggle causing him to laugh too.

"Yes, I am your space hopper," He grins. "Now what is this tradition you mentioned?"

I quickly pull out of the hug and signal him on minute. I return a few minutes later with two candles and matches. I set the candles down and take a deep breath. I feel Mario's presence behind me as I take a deep breath and light the candles.

"To another year without you," I whisper.

"To another year," He echoes.

In that moment a peace washes over me. My parents may be gone but I realise I am not alone.

I am not alone.


	50. Chapter 50: GOOD CATCH

**_Chapter 50:_** GOOD CATCH

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I sit staring blankly into space bored out of my mind. I was on radios for at least another half hour and nothing had happened. I'd given advice on stitching a wound but that was it. I look up as Mario walks in and he sets a Styrofoam cup on the desk in front of me before giving me a quick peck on the lips.

"Thank you," I smile.

"No problem," He says. "You must be bored. There hasn't been much going on tonight."

"Yeah. It's not too bad though," I say taking a sip of coffee. "I basically get to sit here and do nothing."

"Now that you've said that…"

"Get back to work before Doctor Rorish tears you a new one," I say rolling my eyes.

He chuckles and kisses me again quickly before leaving.

He's barely gone before the radios go crazy.

 _There's been a building collapse due to an arson attack in downtown…_

 _Nineteen year old female injured in an explosion…_

 _RTA with three…_

I take a deep breath as I hit the emergency button to call for support. In less than a minute Doctor Hudson and Doctor Rorish were in the room. I move to the last radio area to make room for them and pick it up.

"This is Doctor Maya Cameron from Angel's Memorial," I say into the radio. "What is your status?"

"Nineteen year old female, in and out of conscious and severe head injury along with burns dislocated shoulder, lacerations and unknown internal damage. ETA two minutes," The paramedic says.

"Injury severity level?"

"Critical," They say. I nod and then turn to Doctor Rorish.

"Critical patient two minutes out," I say to her and she nods.

"Doctor Guthrie I need you to take over here!" She yells and he appears about a minute later. "Maya you're with me."

And with that I follow her out.

"What's her stats?" Doctor Rorish asks as we run beside the gurney.

"Ragged breathing, in and out of consciousness, burns, lacerations, dislocated shoulder… There's probably more but we haven't been able to check due to her breathing," One of the paramedics says.

"How bad are the breathing issues?" Doctor Rorish asks as we reach centre stage.

"Barely any breath sounds on the left," He replies.

 _Probably collapsed_.

We quickly move her onto the new gurney and hook her up to the monitors. She was still very much in and out of it, head rocking back and forward and eyes focusing on nothing. But in a matter of seconds she loses consciousness either from the pain or head injury.

"Doctor Cameron can you check her head and neck please?" Doctor Rorish says.

I nod and quickly move up to the girl's head pulling gloves on quickly. I run my hands slowly down her neck, checking for puncture wounds, protruding anything and broken bones. I find nothing that I can feel but there is some blood so I gently lift her head to find a second degree burn and some small cuts but nothing life threatening.

"Cuts and burns on the back on the neck but nothing serious," I call. "They're no sign of spinal injury that I can feel or see."

I then quickly check the rest of her head. There's a cut on her hairline that's deep and still bleeding that will definitely need stitches. I find nothing else but a few scratches. I then pull out my torch and check her eyes.

Limited response. I move…

Wait what…?

I check the eyes again and get the same result. There's response to light stimulation but very little. There's no sign of her being brain dead but her eyes are not responding like they should. I look for swelling and find slight heat around her eyes.

 _Crap_.

"Doctor Rorish, can you have a look at this please?" I say. "I think there's an eye and brain injury."

She's over immediately and checks the young girl's eyes. She frowns and I know that she agrees.

"We need to get her stabilised and then to a CAT scan and MRI," Doctor Rorish says. "We are dealing with a brain and or eye injury."

The nurses and I nod.

"Now Doctor Cameron I need you to remove obstructive clothing and check for anymore burns or lacerations that need fixed before she can be moved. I'm going to finish this chest tube and relocate her shoulder. Understood?"

"Yes Doctor Rorish," I say.

"Good."

I quickly move to the side Doctor Rorish isn't working on and start to check the girl's left arm. There's a couple of burns on her arm but it's hard to see with her clothes being so wet. However it does only seem to be second degree ones. Nothing to worry about at the minute.

Her hand however…

Her hand had some form of chemical burn with the surrounding tissue being blackened, swollen and seemingly dehydrated. I gently lift her hand and smell it and instantly know the chemical. I gag slightly at the strong smell but push it back as I put her hand down.

Hydrochloric Acid.

"Doctor Rorish we need to start treating her for chlorine inhalation," I say as I grab a pair of scissors to start removing clothes.

"What makes you say that?" She says coming over to my side.

"Burn on the left hand looks different to the rest and it smells like a swimming pool," I say as I cut open the girl's t-shirt. The sight underneath causes me to stagger slightly.

 _Holy crap_.

Her stomach is covered in scars from what I presume came from electrocution and knife wounds. I swallow back the nausea as I cut the rest of the shirt away. I work quickly to get her jacket and t-shirt off and find more scars on her back. I can see the horror on Doctor Rorish's face. What the hell had this girl been through to cause this? She was only like nineteen.

I push the thoughts back and look at Doctor Rorish for my next instruction.

"Sort out her leg Doctor Cameron" Doctor Rorish says. "I'll finish sorting her torso."

I give a thankful look and move to her right leg and begin stitching it up. Way to kick off the shift.

I wash my hands quietly and try to forget the state of the girl I just treated. Doctor Rorish was beside me and could tell she was affected by what she saw too.

"Well done with that patient," She says. "You kept your calm even after seeing her scars."

"I didn't really have a choice," I mumble.

"You still stayed calm," She smirks back. "And aside from that you made a few good catches. Most doctors would have mistaken the blindness for brain dead and then how on earth did you catch the hydrochloric acid?"

"Scar on my arm isn't from the car accident," I chuckle pointing to my left arm. "There was an incident in the lab during med school…"

"I don't even want to know…" Doctor Rorish chuckles.

"What on earth do you think happened to her?" I say seriously.

"I'm presuming military or something similar. Her family and friends here seem like the type."

"She's only nineteen though…" I say shaking my head. "She looked way too skinny, old and tired to be nineteen."

"Some people have way more experience than their years," Doctor Rorish says sadly and I know rightly she's referring to me.

"They do," I sigh. After a few seconds of silence I speak again. "I know this isn't ER etiquette and all that jazz because we only get the first ten minutes but when she wakes up can I see if she's okay?"

"I thought I told you not to get attached to patients?" She smirks.

"We all know how well that goes…" I chuckle.

"Fair point," She chuckles back. "You can go see her but don't make a habit of getting attached to patients. It's a quick road to ruin."

"Of course," I say.

"Now get back to work," Doctor Rorish says patting my shoulder. "We're in Code Black remember?"

"Oh gosh don't remind me," I groan causing her to chuckle.

With that we leave the room. Here we go again.

 ** _Four days later_**

I carefully open the door to the girl's room. I now knew she was called Autumn Campbell and she came from Virginia but spoke with an English accent due to where she grew up. The room was dark probably to help her now highly sensitive senses from going into overdrive.

"Keegan I thought I said…" She begins.

"Sorry Miss Campbell. I'm not Keegan. I'm Doctor Maya Cameron," I say cutting her off making sure my voice is soft. "I've came to check your vitals and change your meds.

"Okay, do whatever you need," She mumbles sounding defeated.

I move slowly to her bedside and take in that she seems to concentrate hard on the sound of my footsteps. I put my stethoscope in my hairs and put it on her chest gently.

"Now I need you to breathe as deeply as you can." I say. She does so. I change sides. "Again."

Miss Campbell does it without complaining.

"Now sit forward please," I smile. She sits forward slowly with some difficulty but she makes it. As soon as she does I put the stethoscope on her back. "Breathe in. And again."

Pulse and lungs sound fine.

"Lung sounds are good," I smile. "Your chest is healing well. Your pulse is stable. Now just let me check your eyes and change your IV."

Miss Campbell nods and lie back down as I quickly change her IV which takes me only a few minutes. I then pull my torch out of my breast pocket.

"I'm going to shine some light in your eyes to check your reaction times," I say and get another nod.

I shine the light in her eyes and she squints in pain. Pupils are dilating but her reaction to the light is very weak. This damage wasn't going to go by itself. I bit my lip to stop myself form sighing in despair. What this young girl must be going through…

"Your pupils are dilating but you have very minimal or slow reaction to the light," I say gently.

"It's bad isn't it?" She says quietly, voice weak. I see the same weakness I had at age fifteen and my heart breaks.

"I can't really say. It's not my specialisation," I say trying to be vague but comforting. I really didn't know what to say. "I'm a traumatologist."

"My eyes are a trauma injury though," She whispers. She did have a point but I push that back. Mind your words Maya.

"I know. I only get the first ten minutes though," I say softly, trying to stay calm as I feel tears threaten to fall. "I was part of the team that stabilised you. I don't get to help you after that. I came here to see how you were. I don't get to do that often."

"Thank you," She says honestly. For the first time I notice she was crying and I push back my own tears. However I could tell she wanted to be alone and I would accept that wish.

"No problem," I smile. "Get well soon Miss Campbell."

I turn to walk away and make it to the door but I feel I have to tell her something. I don't know why but I feel I have to.

"Miss Campbell, may I give up some advice?" I say quietly. "Just tell me if I've over stepped."

"Go ahead."

"It gets better," I say softly. "Things may seem dark and cold now. You may feel alone but you're not. You have a fiancé who loves you. Parents who care deeply for you. Friends who want the best for you. It gets better no matter how badly you think things have gone. I'm a prime example."

The girl's mouth drops and her eyes widen in shock so what I've said must have had an effect.

"I…" She stutters. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. Just get better," I smile. "Goodbye Miss Campbell."

"Goodbye Doctor Cameron. And please, call me Autumn."

I give a small nod and leave the room. Outside the door is Doctor Rorish and I shy away as my fight to keep the tears away had failed. We walk in silence to the elevators.

"You did good," She says as she hits the button.

I nod and wipe my tears away.

I don't know what was going to happen to Autumn but I hoped she was okay. I was but we are different people. Inside I hope my advice helps but that's it. I'll never know. And that's the main thing I hate about being a doctor. I may save lives but I never know what happens to the people afterwards.

I push the thoughts back as the elevator comes to a halt. I return to my shift ready to face another patient. Another life.


	51. Chapter 51: JOB OFFER

**_Chapter 51:_** JOB OFFER

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"Doctor Cameron may I talk to you in my office for a moment please?"

I look up to see Doctor Perello towering over me in her white coat and stupidly high heels. My heart drops and I look around for a way out. I can't remember doing anything stupid. Jesse makes eye contact and gives me the "you're screwed" look. I inwardly groan.

"Of course Doctor Perello," I smile and quickly follow her to her office.

"Please sit," She says gesturing to a seat when we enter. "And don't look so scared. You're not in trouble."

 _Oh thank goodness_.

"What can I help you with?" I ask as I sit down.

"It's actually what can I help you with. This arrived for you this morning after you left," She says handing me an envelope that was open.

"Why's it already opened?" I say pulling the paper out of the envelope.

"It was addressed to the hospital," She says. "We presume it's because you're under a residency contract here already."

I nod and start to read the letter relating to me…

 _Dear Doctor Cameron,_

 _We're writing to you concerning a placement in an advanced and accelerated residency programme. As of late we have heard of your exceptional work and have an offer for you. There has been an opening in our specialist critical unit in New York. We deal with only the worst trauma injuries and the deadliest diseases and we think that your skill set…_

I look up at Doctor Perillo who is smirking at me. I can't find words. Why would they want me? I'm just some first year resident.

"Congratulations!" She smiles.

The thing is…

I don't want to take it.

"Doctor Perello, I think you're jumping the gun here," I say politely. "I'm happy at Angel's. I don't want this job."

"Doctor Cameron this is a once in a life time opportunity…"

"So is Angel's," I point out.

"Doctor Cameron you have to take it," She pushes.

"No I don't. I'm happy here Doctor Perello," I say politely but my patience was wearing thin. "I'm twenty-five years old and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. It took a lot of work to get here for me. I'm not going to throw that away to move to New York for some residency in a critical unit."

"At least think about it," She pushes.

"Fine," I grunt.

"Now time to get back to the shift," She says.

"Yes mam."

And with that I leave.

"What was that all about?" Mario asks as I return to the nurse's desk.

"Nothing that concerns you," I grumble taking a file from the pile.

"Maya don't be like that. What's wrong?"

"I got a job offer in New York," I say hoping it'll get him to go away. "But it doesn't matter as I'm not going to take it."

"Wait you got a job offer? Maya that's amazing!"

"A job offer I'm not taking," I specify.

"Why not?"

"Because this is the most settled I've been in a long time. I have you and everyone else here. For the first time in a long I feel happy. I am not throwing that away," I say sternly. "Now I have a patient. I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you later," He says.

I grab the file and walk over to my patient. It was going to be a long shift.

"Maya, with me!"

I follow Doctor Rorish quickly to the emergency doors and see a stretcher being pulled in with an elderly woman on it seemingly in a lot of pain clutching her head.

"Cynthia Roberts, aged sixty-eight. In the mid stages of having a stroke…"

"Gran…" I whimper.

"Maya?" The woman whimpers and Doctor Rorish looks at me in shock.

I felt sick.

No.

Crap.

"Doctor Rorish I…" I stutter stumbling back.

"It's okay Maya. I've got this," She says gently. "Doctor Leighton with me now!"

I stare dumbly at them as they go into centre stage. I don't move even when Gramps comes up behind me placing a hand on my shoulder. I should be comforting him but I can't move.

I was completely helpless.

But I trusted Rorish. And hopefully she would succeed.

Gosh I hope she succeeds.


	52. Chapter 52: STROKE

**_Chapter 52:_** STROKE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I pace the room quickly desperately trying to control my breathing. I felt a headache building in the back and the nausea was almost overwhelming. Gran had just been moved up to surgery and Doctor Hudson had removed me from the shift after seeing how much I was shaking and how pale I looked. Gramps was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs with his head resting on his hands as if he was praying.

I never understood religion but I saw that it made them happy and gave them strength so I didn't care. All I wanted them to be was happy.

This was not going to do that.

My thoughts run at one hundred miles per hour. This probably happened due to her age and type one diabetes. Other than that she was healthy with no problems. She's always been healthy.

 _Crap._

I knew I had to call Aunt Ali and I was desperately trying to get the nerve. I'd only stopped crying and I was worried if I called her I would break down again. But I had to do it. She may not have been blood related to them but she still called them her family.

"Gramps," I say putting my hand on his shoulder and pulling out my phone. "I'm away to call Aunt Ali. Do you want me to get coffee or tea or something on my way back for you?"

"Tea please. And get some for yourself too. You're going to wear a hole in that floor if you don't calm down," He says looking up. "And please calm down slightly. You're going to get a migraine."

"No problem and it's too late," I smirk. "But don't worry about me. Worry about yourself. I have my meds in my locker sure."

"Thank you," He says squeezing my wrist gratefully. "Do make sure to get something to eat though. Those tablets are strong."

"I know Gramps," I smirk. "I am a doctor you know."

"Sometimes I wonder," He chuckles then he turns serious again. "Now go. The faster you do it the faster its over."

I nod as he lets go of my wrist and head out. I go out to the ambulance bay for peace and quiet and dial the number for Aunt Ali with shaky hands. She picks up after a few rings. She sounds half asleep. It was nearly 1AM after all.

"Hello? Maya is that you?"

"Yeah," I say quietly leaning against the wall next the emergency doors. "Something's happened. Are you sitting down?"

"Yeah sweetheart," She says sounding more awake. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, Gran… Gran…" I stutter as tears start to fall again. "Gran had a stroke. She was admitted about an hour and a half ago. I've only just calmed down enough to call you."

"What…?"

"She's in surgery at the minute to get rid of the swelling and to minimise bleeding. I don't know how bad it is… Doctor Rorish keeps giving me doctor avoidance answers so it must be bad…" I barrel on as I start to properly cry. "Aunt Ali I don't know what to do. Gramps is here and he's so calm and…"

I can't continue.

"Maya calm down sweetheart," She says. "I'll get off work as soon as I can. It'll be okay. But first I need you to breathe."

I take slow shaky breaths and slowly calm down. The crying doesn't stop but I feel clearer.

"Now I want you to go get something to eat and wait for me to call you back. Make sure Steven eats something too." She says. "I'm going to go call my boss to see if I can get away and then look at flights, okay?"

"Okay," I nod.

"I'll call back soon okay," She says. "Try and stay calm sweetheart."

"I'll try."

And with that she hangs up.

I don't know how long I just stood there trying to calm down enough to go back in but I know it was awhile. When Rorish arrives she finds me sitting with my knees pulled to my chest and breathing shakily. I was fighting a panic attack as memories bombard me. All she does is sit down beside me placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I can't lose her," I whisper. "I can't… She… I can't lose her."

"I know. I know," Doctor Rorish says which is enough to set me off crying again.

I couldn't lose her. Gran was one of the few people that got through to me after the accident. She understood me when I refused to talk. She didn't force me to pretend to be happy or tried to force me to communicate. Gran would take me out with her without expecting anything in return. She helped me and now despite all of my education I couldn't help her.

I felt totally helpless. And I hated it.

 ** _Three days later_**

 ** _Cameron's POV_**

I find Maya fast asleep in the arm chair beside Cynthia. She looked exhausted even in sleep and I understood why. Doctor Rorish explained that Maya and Steven had been doing shifts. Maya during the day and Steven during the night. Maya was still in her scrubs and I was slightly concerned when I heard she was still working her shifts. But to be quite honest I wasn't surprised. Angel's was seriously under staffed. They wouldn't have been able to cope with Maya taking more time off.

"Maya," I say quietly gently grabbing her arm. "Time to get up sweetheart."

Maya startles awake in shock but immediately calms when she sees me. Her eyes look blurry and I can tell she's fighting a headache. She looks at me with bloodshot eyes and smiles weakly.

"Hey," She whispers.

"Hey," I say quietly. "I'm going to be quite honest with you here. You look awful."

"Good to see you too," She smirks.

"When was the last time you went home?"

"Three days ago."

"When was the last time you had eight hours of sleep?" I sigh.

"Not recently," She grumbles. "But that's not of out sorts for me and you know that."

"Fair point. Last question, when was the last time you ate a proper meal?"

"Next question?" She says weakly.

"Maya Pearl…" I begin.

"Don't you start, you had a period of time at Princeton Plainsbro where you didn't leave the hospital for nearly a week and survived on very little food," She says cutting me off. She did have a point with that too.

"Please just look after yourself," I say after a small pause. "I don't want you getting sick or crashing."

"I know. I just don't want to leave her."

I look over at Cynthia and sigh. I knew where Maya was coming from. When she was sick with Meningitis I didn't want to leave her.

"How is she?"

"She's in a coma. Probably paralysed in her left arm," Maya says exhausted. "Possible brain damage in the memory and speech areas. It doesn't look good for when she wakes up."

"Has there been any recovery?"

"They took her off the ventilator. She's now breathing with just the nasal cannula but that's it."

I nod and let the information hang. I then take a deep breath knowing I had to talk to her about something else.

"I heard about the job offer."

"From whom?" She says annoyance in her voice.

"Doctor Rorish," I say. "And I'm not going to force you to do anything."

"You're not?" Maya says surprised. "That's a change from Doctor Perello's hounding."

"I know you're stubborn and I know you're happy here. I'm not going to take that from you," I say. "I also know after this you can't leave and I am not going to force you."

"Thank you," She says quietly. I look at her and notice she's nearly falling asleep again. I sigh.

"Go home Maya. I'll stay here," I say. She goes to open her mouth in protest but I raise my hand. "Don't argue. You need to go home and get some sleep. You look exhausted."

"I would argue but I'm way too tired," She says getting up slowly.

"Good. Now go! I've got this," I smile weakly.

"Thank you," She mumbles weakly pulling me into a hug.

"No problem," I say as she pulls back. And with that she leaves.

I was so proud of Maya. She had come so far in the eleven years I've been her guardian. She'd grown into this beautiful young woman who put herself after others. But then again that was her main weakness.

I desperately hope she doesn't push herself too hard. She's came too far to fall apart.

I'm proud of her. But I'm also worried.

Gosh am I worried.


	53. Chapter 53: ATTACK

**_Chapter 53:_** ATTACK

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I pull on my scrub top and take a deep breath as I look in my locker's mirror. I look awful but that's down to my lack of sleep. My headache was now thankfully gone but my anxiety levels were not. I just had to make it through this week. Gran just had to wake up and I could do this.

"You okay?"

I jump slightly and turn to find Christa.

"Yeah just tired," I smile weakly.

"How's she doing?"

"She's still in the coma," I say sadly. "She's stable and breathing on the nasal cannula but they're thinking there's going to be some form of paralysis and brain damage."

"If you need anything…" Christa says quietly after a small pause.

"Thank you," I smile. "Now time to get to our shift."

I walk quickly up to my next patient and read of the file in my hand.

 _Dizziness. Slurred speech. Vomiting. Head wound and bruising to chest and face…_

Great. We've a drunken bar fight gone wrong.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Maya Cameron. What seems to be the problem?" I say politely and I'm glad to find someone who seems sober with him.

"Hello Doctor Cameron," The woman with the guy on the gurney smiles. "I'm Lucia Graham and this is my boyfriend Lee Smith. We were at a bar and Lee got into a fight. He got hit in the head and chest and he's bleeding."

"I don't need help!" Mr Smith yells.

 _Oh great_.

"Mister Smith I'm only going to stich up your head and give you some painkillers okay?" I say calmly and gently.

"I don't need help!" He slurs and I just about stay calm. I can see Jesse get ready to move out of the corner of my eye.

"Sir, I need you to stay calm," I say inching forward I then turn to face his girlfriend. "Mam can you step back please."

"Don't tell my girlfriend what to do!"

"Sir, please calm down," I say as I come to the side of the bed. I slowly move to check his head.

"Get away from me!" He yells clenching his fists. Crap this is going to go violent. "I don't need your help asshole!"

I manage to dodge the first swing by side stepping but the second I completely misjudge. The punch makes square contact with my face and I go flying. I smack off the instrument tray on the way down bringing it down with me and let out a groan as I taste blood. I ignore it and get up quickly sending the tray and stand flying again as it had landed on my legs and back.

"We need help in here," Jesse yells coming to the rescue. Thank goodness.

Jesse and I quickly restrain the guy with great difficulty. The guy has some strength on him despite being extremely drunk and spits in Jesse and I's face. But eventually two other nurses come and one manages to get a sedative into him. A few seconds later he goes limp and I release him as I start to get dizzy.

"You're bleeding Chica," Jesse says with concern.

"Yep I can taste it," I say trying not to gag as I can no longer breathe through my nose.

"What happened here?" Doctor Rorish says then looks at me in shock at my heavily bleeding nose.

"Drunk guy went nuts when I tried to get near him. He punched me and I whacked off the instrument tray on the way down," I say attempting not to get blood on my scrubs and failing miserably.

"Doctor Leighton come over here and help Jesse deal with this please," Doctor Rorish says pressing a wad of tissues to my nose. I wince. "Maya let's get you sorted."

Doctor Rorish quickly leads me to the break room and forces me to sit down making me hide a wince. I lean my head forward and press the tissue down and pinch the bridge of my nose and ignore the pain.

"Stay like that," Doctor Rorish says. "I'm away to get the adhesive strips and ice."

I nod and hear her disappear. The bleeding was starting to ease but my hands and the neck of my scrubs and under armour were covered in blood. Five minutes later Doctor Rorish returns with the treatment equipment and a new t-shirt and scrubs.

"Has the bleeding stopped?" She asks sitting down in front of me.

"Pretty much," I say removing the tissues.

"You took a pretty nasty hit there," She says pouring some saline solution onto gauze.

"Nah, I'm fine," I say but that was a total lie. I could feel the adrenalin wearing off and pain was settling in my legs and lower back as well as my head.

"Don't lie to me."

"Why would I lie…?" I begin but I'm got off by her whacking my back. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Stop lying. I saw you wince when you sat down," She smirks. "Now where are you hurting?"

"Head, lower back and legs," I grumble.

"Thank you," She says. "I'll check them when I've finished with your nose."

"It's probably just bruising…"

"Then why is your knee bleeding?"

"Ah crap!" I say moving to look but it results in whacking my nose of Doctor Rorish's hand as she's currently trying to deal with blood. "Ah!"

"Stay still!" She says.

I silently comply and ten minutes later I have a plaster on my left knee and my nose is set with adhesive strips. I have bruising under my eyes, on my jaw, on my back and on my right knee. But I could walk in a straight line and had steady hands so I would be returning to the shift despite a slight headache.

Doctor Perello walks in just as I pull on the scrub top. She looks horrified.

"Doctor Cameron are you alright!?" She exclaims pulling out her torch and checking my eyes. I stumble back startled.

"I'm fine," I say pushing her away.

"Are you sure? I saw the hit. You went down pretty hard."

"She's fine. We're actually on our way back to the shift," Doctor Rorish says.

"She can't work like that!"

"She can walk in a straight line and has a steady hand. I checked her myself!" Doctor Rorish says. "And anyway we're in Code Black. I'll only have her on minor injuries. No Centre Stages."

"That last time you said that she got sent home with Pneumonia…" Doctor Perello points out.

"If she shows any sign of concussion I'll send her home. Deal?"

"Fine… Deal," Doctor Perello says. "But if anything happens it's on you!"

"Thank you," I say sincerely.

"Now get back to work you two."

And with that we leave.

It had been six hours since I'd been hit and I stand quietly filling out a patient's release forms. My head had gradually gotten worse and the dizzy spells came every twenty minutes also getting worse each time. I wasn't sure if it was my anaemia, exhaustion or head injury. Maybe all three.

I take a deep breath as I try to finish the form but I felt nausea hit me as another dizzy spell takes over. I clench my fists and try to stop myself from passing out. I needed to find Doctor Rorish.

I barely notice Jesse come up beside me.

"You alright chica?" He asks concern lacing his voice.

"Dizzy," I say shaking my head.

"Do you want me to get Leanne?" He asks frantically.

"I…" I stutter. "You won't make it that…"

The world sways.

The next thing I know I'm being held up by Jesse.

"Leanne get over here please and bring a gurney!" He yells behind us trying to get a better grip on me as he only had me by the back of my scrub top. He quickly wraps an arm below my ribs securing me. "I know I look comfy chica but this is ridiculous."

"Maya!?" Doctor Rorish exclaims but I barely hear her.

"Help me get her on the gurney," Jesse says and the next thing Doctor Rorish has me by the legs and is lifting me.

I'm barely on the gurney before the nausea and dizziness hits me again but due to the angle they got me onto the gurney I nearly come off it again.

"Easy Maya," Doctor Rorish says pushing me back onto the gurney. "Can you hear me?"

I give a weak nod but don't speak afraid I'll throw up.

"Good," She smirks but I could feel the edges of my vision blur. "Let's get her to a quiet…"

"Maya? You with me?"

I come round slowly to Doctor Rorish shining a torch in my eyes. I flinch away from the light and squint at her. My head was spinning, my vision was blurry and nausea overpowers me. My head was pounding.

"And we're back," She smirks. "You gave us quite a scare there."

I swallow hard and try to focus on them but I can't with the nausea. Crap.

"If you're going to be sick throw up on him," Doctor Rorish quirks bending over for something.

"She wouldn't throw up on her Mamma!" Jesse says.

"And she's too afraid of her Daddy to throw up on me!" Rorish quirks back handing me a bucket.

"If you two don't stop I'll aim for both of you," I groan taking the bucket.

They don't get to respond as I empty my stomach contents into the bucket. Doctor Rorish makes sure my hair is out of the way and I'm thankful. That's the last thing I needed. This to be quite honest was my own fault. I hadn't eaten anything more than a cereal bar in twelve hours which now meant I was only bringing up an excessive amount of coffee. I hadn't slept properly in over four days either. That properly caused me to faint. All the other symptoms probably came from the fact I was punched and may have a concussion.

"You good?" Jesse asks after a few seconds or so of no throwing up.

"Yeah," I croak out letting him take the bucket. I feel so embarrassed.

"Maya I have the basic questions," Doctor Rorish says. I inwardly groan. "What have you eaten and drunk in the past twelve hours?"

"Two cereal bars and coffee," I mumble dopily. I felt like lead and like something was pressing down on my eyelids trying to close them.

"When was the last time you had at least six hours of sleep?" She asks trying to keep calm. I stutter. I don't get that much sleep on a good night. "Okay better question, when was the last time you slept in a proper bed for more than five hours?"

"Over four days ago," I mumble. I felt so stupid. I know my limits yet pushed past them.

"Any other issues that could cause fainting?" She says pinching my hand to check the elasticity.

"My anaemia. So that test you just did ain't gonna work," I say fighting sleep.

"Great… Okay then when was the last time you passed urine?" She says. I go bright red and look at Jesse. "Maya, Jesse is a nurse. Wise up."

"Over four or five hours ago," I mumble.

"Jesse can you get me a saline drip please?"

Jesse nods and leaves.

"Right I'm going to ask you something very personal as I check for signs of a concussion," Doctor Rorish says pulling out her torch again.

"Okay…"

"Are you pregnant?"

Wait…

"What!? NO!" I exclaim shocked she would ask.

"Are you sure?" She says as she checks my pupil reaction.

"Yes I'm sure!" I exclaim. "I'd think I'd know if I was pregnant. And anyway my period finished yesterday and I'm on the pill."

"That doesn't necessarily mean…"

"Mario and I are safe. I'm certain…" I say going bright red.

"Why does being pregnant freak you out so much?" Doctor Rorish says raising an eyebrow as she puts her torch away.

"It's not in my plan right now. Maybe in the future but with my health issues…"

"Ah. Fair enough," She says seriously. "It also looks like you have a concussion. For treatment I'm going to put you on fluids and under observation. When the drip is finished I'll get Mario to take you home or I'll do it myself."

"You don't have to…"

"What the hell happened!?"

It's Doctor Perello. And she is angry. Doctor Rorish looks at me to stay quiet.

"Maya passed out. I'm dealing with it now. Jesse has gone to get fluids," Doctor Rorish says.

"What if she had done it on a patient!? I warned you two!"

"I was actually going to find Doctor Rorish when the dizziness started," I say honestly. "I just didn't make it that far."

"Fine but don't let this happen again!" Doctor Perello exclaims after a short pause.

We both let out a yes mam and watch as she promptly leaves.

"Did you actually want to look for me?" Doctor Rorish smirks.

"Yep. I was too embarrassed to go to anyone else."

She smiles at me but before she can respond I let out a big yawn that I fail to hide.

"Go to sleep Maya," She smirks. "I'll wake you when we get the drip."

I nod too tired to argue and fall into a restless sleep almost instantly.


	54. Chapter 54: SELF-CONSCIOUS

**_Chapter 54:_** SELF-CONSCIOUS

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I return to work two days later a bit better than I was. Aunt Ali wasn't happy when I was dropped off at my apartment by Doctor Rorish who was in the process of lecturing me. I remained silent as she took in my deathly pale complexion, broken nose and weak posture. The sight of me then sparked yet another lecture and the only reason it stopped was me nearly passing out again. I was then forced to take a shower, eat something and then straight to bed.

I felt like a child but it was my own fault. I had to face the consequences.

"You look a lot better than you did on Friday," Christa says appearing beside me at the nurse's station. "I didn't expect you to be in today after the state you were in."

"It was come back or deal with Ali for another day," I smirk. "And anyway Gran has woken up. I want to be close to the hospital."

"How is she?" Christa asks.

"She's as good as she can be," I say weakly. "Paralysis and speech impediment with memory issues as expected."

"Awk Maya…"

"No sympathy," I say firmly. "We've been over this."

"Of course," She smiles.

"Now have you seen Mario?" I smile. "I haven't seen him since Friday."

"I saw him about but haven't seen him for about twenty minutes…" Christa says but she trails off as we both spot him by the white board.

Chatting to some very pretty brunette.

Who was practically all over him.

"Please tell I'm seeing things and that a hot brunette isn't all over my boyfriend…" I stutter out.

"I would lie but she is kinda all over your boyfriend," Christa says sympathetically.

"And do you know who this person is?"

"Heather… Not sure about the surname. She's a surgical resident, I think," Christa says. "Now Maya don't freak out. It's probably innocent."

"Yeah. Innocent," I smile. "Why would I freak out?"

I was freaking out.

"Just don't jump to conclusions, okay?" Christa says. "Talk to him."

I nod as I pick up a file and start to read.

"Patient," I say leaving.

It's innocent, I think to myself. It's innocent.

 ** _Mario's POV_**

When Maya returns to work, she doesn't seem right. When I talk to her she's closed off and doesn't seem to be in a good mood. Something was definitely wrong. I just had no clue what.

Then there was Heather.

I don't know what she's playing at but she's got to be some kind of crazy. Every moment she has she's talking to me and is practically all over me. I push away her advances. I love Maya and Heather was not going to change that. She had to get that into her head.

I feel Heather watching me as I fill out forms and restrain from yelling out. Go away woman.

"Hey Mario," She says coming up beside me.

"Hello Heather. What do you want?" I say still filling out the form.

"I want to go out to dinner with you."

"How about no."

"Why not?" She smirks.

"Because I have a girlfriend," I say sternly.

"What? That goody two shoes that constantly gets sick?" Heather laughs. I clench my fists to control my anger. "Mario come on! You can to do better!"

"And your saying you're better than her?" I snap. "The person, who by this point has slept with nearly everyone in surgery, is better than Maya? Maya who is kind, smart and loving as well as beautiful. Heather you are not better than her. Nowhere near. Now leave me alone!"

With that I walk away.

 ** _Maya's POV_**

Over the next couple of days I see Mario and Heather together a lot. Heather is usually quite handsy with Mario when I see them but I see Mario getting annoyed with her. But that doesn't help me. I feel threatened.

I push the thoughts back forcing myself to keep working. Bigger things were hitting Angel's anyway. A new doctor had shown up as an attending. He was Angus's brother and was causing issues in that area.

However he was a good doctor. We were lucky to have him.

"Cameron! Lorenson! With me!"

Christa and I both turn round to find Doctor Leighton calling us and we quickly follow. He leads us to the emergency and then looks at us sternly.

"We have a RTA coming in and I need you two focused, understood?"

"Understood," We chime in unison.

"One last thing," He says and we look at him confused. "Doctor Rorish is not to be contacted during this."

"What? Why?" Christa asks.

"Because we have two adults and two children on their way in critical condition," He says. I feel Christa stiffen at the word children. "Lorenson I want you on the adult male and Cameron you on the youngest boy."

We nod and before we can say anything the doors burst open.

But there's only three gurneys.

"Where's the fourth patient?" Doctor Leighton asks running up beside the woman who is in her late thirties.

Gosh this case was near identical to Rorish's.

"Oldest boy died on site," One of the paramedics says sadly.

My heart drops as I run beside the youngest boy's gurney. I knew why I'd been sent over to him. Christa would get too attached and he knew if I took the woman I'd get too attached to her.

"What's his status?" I asks as we reach Centre Stage. I see Doctor Hudson appear to help Christa out of the corner of my eye. The mother was losing way too much blood. We quickly change the gurneys.

"Severe breathing issues and weak pulse. Injuries to torso, possible broken ribs, definite broken leg and a severe head injuries. There's been a lot of blood loss and he has been in and out of consciousness," The paramedic says. Before he can say anything else the child starts to wake up and panic.

"Mom!" He screams and then proceeds to gasp for air.

"Hey sweetheart, I need you to calm down for me okay?" I say softly smoothing the boy's hair down gently. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Luke…" He whimpers.

"Hello, Luke. I'm Maya," I say. "Now I'm going to help you. I just need to give you something to make you sleep first. Okay?"

"Okay…"

"Can I get ten milligrams of Lorazepam please?" I say to the nurse beside me. She hands it to me quickly and I administer it quickly. The boy is out in seconds.

I quickly move to search the boy and find a medical bracelet on his left wrist. Asthmatic. That explains the breathing issues.

"I need a shot of Xolair!" I say as I hook up his IVs. I'm handed it quickly and I inject it. The kid's breathing eases slightly but not by much.

I then check his leg to find bones in the calf broken. There's bruising to the abdomen suggesting internal bleeding and a lot of deep cuts as well as puncture wounds. A lot of damage to chest and a pretty large head wound.

I quickly pull my stethoscope out of my pocket and check his chest. The breath sounds are ragged and strained on both sides. There is a collapsed lung on the left and a punctured on the right and definite broken ribs.

Crap.

"We need a chest tube kit and intubation kit over here!" I call.

A nurse promptly hands me the chest tube kit but I needed to make a choice. Did I do the breathing tube or intubation first?

"I need to intubate first," I say and she quickly hands me the kit.

I move the boys head and try desperately to get the tube in but there's too much blood. I desperately try to stay calm as a high pitched whine fills the room coming from the mother.

"Doctor Leighton I need help over here! There's too much blood!" I yell over the noise.

I see him make eye contact with Doctor Hudson who nods sadly.

"Get Doctor Rorish in here!" Doctor Leighton yells. "Neil takeover here! I'll help Maya!"

There's a quick swap over and out of the corner of my eye I see Christa still doing CPR. Doctor Leighton quickly takes over the intubation and I move to the left side. I quickly make the incision in-between the ribs and work quickly. I get the tube in after navigating around broken bone and there's a whoosh as the air rushes in re-inflating. There's some blood but not a lot. I tape the tube down.

"That's the chest tube in…" I say but I'm cut off by Rorish walking in.

"What's the situa…" She begins but doesn't finish.

"Doctor Rorish please help Doctor Lorenson," Doctor Leighton says.

That's when there's a whine from Doctor Hudson's side of the room. CPR starts but just over a minute later Doctor Hudson calls it. The mother isn't far behind. I see Doctor Rorish stiffen as Christa calls it and then she does something I don't expect. She keeps doing the CPR past it.

I don't get to react to it as Luke suddenly seizes.

"We need five milligrams of diazepam!" I yell. Doctor Leighton injects it.

No affect.

"Push another five," He calls.

Very little affect.

Crap we can't push anymore.

"Maya what have you given him!?" Doctor Leighton says grabbing Luke's head to prevent more damage.

"Xolair for asthma and Lorazepam to sedate him! That's it!" I exclaim.

"Does he have any other conditions?"

"His bracelet only said asthma!"

The seizing stops only to be replaced by the monitors going mad. Crap.

"He's going to go into cardiac arrest," Doctor Leighton says as I jump on side of the gurney to give CPR.

One elephant… Two elephant… Three elephant… Four elephant…

I keep going with the CPR and watch as Doctor Leighton checks his eyes. His face drops and no words need said. Haemorrhaging. My heart drops knowing what had caused it. I clear for the paddles and then jump back on when they don't have an effect.

Dammit Maya! You had to use Xolair!

I clear again letting them use the paddles and then jump back on.

"Come on Luke. Keep fighting! Come on!" I mumble.

I was starting to get out of breath and to sweat. Tears start to come and when they do the third time of defib there's still no response. I jump back on but I barely get more than four compressions before Doctor Leighton grabs my arm. I stop knowing better.

"Time of death ten oh four PM," Doctor Leighton says.

Dammit.

I see Rorish disappear out the side door but all I felt was sick. I had to use the freaking Xolair. They taught you in med school not to do that.

"Don't blame yourself Maya," Jesse says suddenly appearing beside me. He must have shown when Rorish did.

"Too late," I mumble ripping off my gloves. "I'm away to get some air."

I quickly head for the roof and Jesse doesn't follow, too smart than to do so.

This was my fault.

This was my freaking fault.


	55. Chapter 55: MISTAKE

**_Chapter 55:_** MISTAKE

 ** _Rorish's POV_**

I pace up and down just outside the service stairs desperately trying to stay calm and failing miserably. This was the universe punishing me for surviving that night. That woman on the table should have been me that night.

Panic swarms and I sit down on the stairs to try and push it back closing my eyes. I jump slightly when someone sits beside but calm when I find it's Jesse. He must have either followed me or known I'd come here.

"How are we doing Daddy?" He whispers.

"Like I'm being punished," I whisper.

"You're not being punished Leanne…"

"It sure as hell feels like it!" I exclaim as the tears start to fall. "I should have died that night! The pin in my left leg and the scars on my chest and stomach say I should have died that night! I should have went with them!"

"It just wasn't your time," Jesse says calmly. "If you died that night this hospital would have been screwed for the last six years. You're needed Leanne."

"Then why does it hurt so much?" I whimper.

"Because you love them. Look at Maya. She's being dealing with it five years longer than you have and she still hurts," He says.

"That's because her spleen reminds her everyday. The amount of meds she's on reminds her of what she lost…"

"And your leg reminds you," Jesse says. And I can't argue because it's true. "I've seen you limping recently. Are you okay?"

"You know it gets bad in Winter and the start of Spring," I mumble. "It's manageable though."

"Not what I asked."

"I don't think I can do this anymore," I sigh giving in. "I've been here twenty years Jesse. The whole of my career. I don't think I gave myself enough time to heal after the accident."

"How long have you been thinking this?"

"A few months. Since Maya got trapped in that building," I say.

"I think what you need to do is take a few personal days," He says softly. "Get your head straight and think about what you're going to do next. I don't want you to make any rash decisions."

I nod tearfully and Jesse pulls me into a hug.

"Come here you big blubbing mess," He says jokingly.

"Thanks for the talk Momma," I smile as I start to calm down.

"Anytime, Leanne. Anytime," He smirks pulling back then his face turns serious. "Now we have a mission to do ourselves."

"Mission?" I say raising an eyebrow.

"We currently have two residents that aren't in the best of places right now," Jesse says. "Much like you."

Then it hits me. Maya and Christa both lost patients. And from the look on Maya's face she felt extremely guilty probably because she administered the Asthma medication and the kid haemorrhaged. Christa and I got stuck with the person with Haemophilia. That's going to hit anyone hard.

"You deal with Christa and me Maya?"

"Sounds like a plan," Jesse says as we get up. "Now you better take those personal days."

"Don't worry I will," I smile sadly. "Thanks for the talk Jesse."

"No problem Leanne."

And with that we part ways. I head straight for the elevator. I knew exactly where Maya would be.

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I pace the roof shaking, too restless to sit down. I was freaking out. That kid was dead because of me. I'd made a stupid mistake. We were taught not to use Xolair with a head injury clearly present. Top that with a sedative...

But I had panicked and now that kid was dead.

I jump slightly when the door to the roof opens to reveal Doctor Rorish. She looks as if she had been crying and to be quite honest I was on the verge of doing so. I was just about holding it together.

"It wasn't your fault," She says quietly.

"The hell it wasn't!" I exclaim as the tears start to fall. She jumps slightly. "I gave that kid Lorazepam and Xolair. Mixed together they are bad news but with a head injury… I made a stupid decision and because of that decision a child is dead."

"Maya you did the best you could in a bad situation," Doctor Rorish says. "A lot of doctors have made the same decision thinking the risks were outweighed by the gain. You did all you could to save that boy."

"He was in so much pain," I cry softly as the panic takes over. "I couldn't give him morphine as he was too small… I… There were just too many injuries and so much blood. I didn't know if I needed to do the chest tube or intubation first or…"

"Maya stop."

I stop my rambling.

"Sit down and take deep breaths," Doctor Rorish says. I suddenly realise I was practically hyperventilating. I sit down.

"It's my fault. That eight year old is dead because of me…"

"No he's not Maya," Doctor Rorish says sitting beside me. "You did all you could. I haven't seen any first year resident do what you did in that room to save that child, half of which was by yourself."

"There was too much blood…"

"I know but you got him breathing again before he crashed and that was phenomenal. In my time here I've only seen two doctors with great promise and they were Neal and Mike. I now see that in you. You're going to be a brilliant Doctor Maya."

"Why don't I believe that?" I mumble.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You got an offer to work in the best hospital in the country for goodness sake!" Doctor Rorish smiles. "You're going to be just fine. We lose patients Maya. It's part of the job."

Before I can respond the door bursts open again to reveal Mario. I stiffen. I really did not want to talk to him right now. Doctor Rorish notices as her face drops.

"If you need to talk I'm here," She whispers only loud enough for me to hear.

"Thank you," I say.

We that she leaves.

"Hey Mario," I say quietly running a hand over my face and wiping my tears away.

"We need to talk," He says putting his hands in his scrub pockets and sitting beside me.

"We do."

"Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you?" He says quietly. "We've barely spoken over the past week. You've been avoiding me… Maya what's wrong?"

"What's going on between you and Heather?" I whisper surprised I had the guts to say it. "Every time I see you two together she's practically all over you."

"Awk Maya I'm so sorry," He whispers. "I thought I had it under control."

My heart drops.

"What?" I whimper preparing for the worst.

"She keeps coming on to me and won't leave me alone. I've pushed her away each time but she won't listen," He says taking my hand. I sigh with relief. "I had no intention of making you feel that way. Maya there is nothing between me and Heather. I love you and Heather is not going to change it."

"Oh thank goodness," I sigh the weight coming off my shoulders.

"Did you think there was something between us?"

"I didn't know what to think if I'm quite honest with you," I say. "I felt threatened when she was all over you and it made me feel self-conscious. It just made me feel like you had settled for me."

"What?" Mario whispers. It was his turn to be confused apparently.

"It's obvious you're way out of my league. There's prettier than me. There's smarter than me. There's stronger than me," I say. "You've settled for a seven, eight at most when you're like a nine or ten."

"I'm out of your league!?" Mario says surprised. "If anything Maya you're out of mine! You're kind and smart and beautiful. I haven't met anyone as strong as you and it's an absolute honour to know you. I got lucky finding you. Before you I was a recovered junky who slept around. Then you crashed into my world with your sass, bold ideas and brilliant mind. I didn't settle Maya. I got really lucky. I love you more than I can express. Maya I love you."

I stare at him stunned trying to find words. I fail miserably and end up opening and closing my mouth repeatedly. Real attractive Maya. Not only do you look like an emotional wreck, you're now impersonating a goldfish.

"I think that's the first time I've seen you speechless," Mario smirks.

I was going to wipe that smirk of his face.

I move quickly, pulling him into a deep kiss. It's not long before I'm straddling him and we're making out. I pull back gasping for air after a few minutes and find Mario looking at me stunned.

"Now who's speechless?" I smirk.

"Oh so you're going to play it that way?" He smirks. This time he kisses me.

After a few minutes I feel it getting to heated and pull back breathing heavily and grinning.

"This is getting too heated…" I smirk.

"So?" He smirks back.

"So we're on the hospital roof. It's inappropriate. Anyone could walk in."

"Spoil sport."

"Oh I'm not saying no. We just have to wait till the shift is over and go to your apartment," I smirk.

He chuckles but before I can respond my phone starts buzzing so I quickly get up and answer.

"Hello, this is Doctor Cameron. Whom am I speaking with?" I say.

"Maya? It's Lisa Cuddy. Remember me?"

Well I wasn't expecting that.

"Of course I remember you," I smile. "What's the call for?"

"I'll be in LA for a few days and I was wandering if you would like to meet and catch up?"

"That sounds great. Would you mind if I call you back though? I'm mid shift and I don't know when I'm free exactly," I smile.

"Oh yes, you have that big trauma residency. Call back when you can Maya. Bye."

"Bye."

I quickly hang up.

"Who was that?" Mario says.

"Old family friend," I smile and then gesture to the door. "We better get back. Duty calls."

And with that we leave.

My fears about Mario were solved for now but I still felt extremely guilty over Luke. I was glad Mario didn't know and I hope it stayed that. He didn't need to know it was eating me up inside. I'll just need to deal with it myself or talk to Rorish.

I was used to dealing with things on my own anyway. I just hoped this time I actually could.


	56. Chapter 56: DOCTOR DOWN

**_Chapter 56:_** DOCTOR DOWN

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"Maya a word," Doctor Leighton says from behind.

I knew what this was and I had been dreading it. It had been a relatively quiet tonight so I was surprised he hadn't grabbed me sooner. Jesse gives me a sympathetic look and I unwillingly follow Doctor Leighton into the staff lounge knowing full well Doctor Rorish wasn't here to protect me.

"We need to talk about yesterday," He says.

"What do you want to say?" I say knowing it was better to let him lead the conversation.

"You made a stupid mistake yesterday," He says. "One that cost a life."

"I know using the Xoliar was a bad decision but do you really know if it was that that killed him? He could have been haemorrhaging when we came in. Which meant if he was, we were probably not going to be able to help him," I say. This reasoning was the only reason I got even a couple hours of sleep last night.

"We can't prove that," He snaps.

"And you can't prove that it was the Xoliar that caused the haemorrhaging," I bite back. I was not going to roll over.

"Is that how you see it? As an accident? Is that how you cope? In denial? Because if you are denying it, it's going to come crashing down."

"No. I feel guilty as all hell as a child died in my care. That I couldn't save him despite my best efforts," I say sternly as I start to get annoyed. "But then again you can't say I'm denial when in actual fact it's you who's denying responsibility."

"Excuse me?"

"You are the one who left a first year resident alone with a severe trauma," I say. I was not letting him pin this all on me. Yeah some of it was my fault but some it was also very much his.

"Don't try to pin this on me. Doctor Rorish told me you were a good doctor," He snaps.

"I'm not pinning it on you. Just making a statement," I say sweetly pushing my anger back.

Before he can reply a nurse bursts in. Thank goodness.

"Doctor Leighton we need your help out here," She says.

"This isn't over," He says and then walks out.

I take a few deep breaths calming myself before following behind.

I manage to get through the rest of the shift without running into Doctor Leighton again. It was a long shift with the stream of patients seemingly never ending.

Who am I kidding? The stream of patients never ended.

I slowly make my way to the locker room my shift finally over when I hear yelling. Yelling that sounded like Christa.

"HELP! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!"

I dash into the locker room and find Christa quickly. My heart drops when I see her.

Next to her was Doctor Perello lying in a pool of her own blood. Her dress was soaked and she was barely breathing. Christa was barely moving and very obviously in shock.

I instantly go into doctor mode.

"Christa get help!" I say yanking off my scrub top leaving me in only my Under-Armour.

I quickly crouch down getting blood on my scrub bottoms but I ignore it. I was glad my sleeves were pushed up. I apply pressure to Doctor Perello's stomach but I barely make an affect. She moans quietly in response.

Christa doesn't move.

"Christa go get help! Get a stretcher!" I say more sternly.

She shakes out of it and runs out of the locker room slipping slightly on her way out. I quickly check Doctor Perello's pulse. Weak but there. Then with one hand check breath sounds. Still slightly strong.

"Doctor Perello can you hear me?"

"Cameron?" She mumbles quietly.

"Hey, yeah it's me," I say keeping the pressure. "What happened?"

"Gordon… Heshman" She stutters out. "Malaya…"

She loses consciousness just as a stretcher comes in. I check her pulse. Nothing.

Crap!

"Patient is female mid-forties. Multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen and mass amount of blood loss. We have no pulse," I ring off as I help get her onto the gurney. Doctor Leighton is looking at me in shock and Doctor Lorenson still looks to be still slightly in shock.

"Maya remove the scrub top. Let me see the damage," Doctor Leighton says. I do as I'm told and quickly put on gloves as I keep up.

"We need security in here now!" I say to one of the nurses as Doctor Leighton starts to yell what we need when we reach centre stage. "We are looking for Gordon Heshman. We also need to find Doctor Pineda. Her life is at risk."

"Yes Doctor Cameron," She says and rushes off.

"Cameron chest tube now!" Doctor Leighton says. "I need to intubate her!"

"Yes Doctor Leighton," I say taking the package with the instruments for it from a nurse beside me.

The chest tube was difficult. There's a lot of blood and broken bone and it takes all I have to stay calm. My hands were shaking but I manage. The lung regains some functionality but it's not before I get covered in more blood and more complications arise.

"Has anyone done a clam shell before?" Doctor Leighton says.

"I have," I say but I get distracted by Malaya coming in screaming and on a gurney with Doctor Hudson and Jesse.

"Malaya calm down. You're okay," Jesse says but that's not backed up as another gurney comes through.

With Gordon Heshman on it.

I stare in shock losing focus.

"Maya, you're the only of the residents who knows what they are doing," Doctor Leighton says as the chaos continues. "Deep breaths! Focus on me!"

I nod and take a few shaky breaths before I allow a nurse to help into a gown. I quickly change my gloves and take the scalpel off Doctor Leighton who begins cutting away Gina's dress. As soon as he gives me the clear and the area is sterile enough I start to make incisions. I barely get finished before Doctor Pinkey comes bursting in.

"You called a TTA… What the hell is going on?" She exclaims. "We can get you a place in seven minutes."

"We don't have seven minutes Doctor Pinkey!" Doctor Leighton says handing me the separators. I could hear Christa working on Heshman. I felt ill. "You can either help us or leave."

"You're letting Cameron do this!?" She exclaims. I grit my teeth carrying on with the procedure. "She's not trained! I'm calling Campbell!"

"Go right ahead!" Leighton yells. He then turns to me with a softer tone. "What's the damage?"

"Nicked everything," I say. "Liver and kidney damage fixable, nicked digestive tract, splenectomy needed and damage to the lungs. Not sure about the heart."

"Start repairing what you can!" He says. "Neal, get over here!"

I watch as Doctor Hudson rushes over as I get to work. As soon as he's gowned he jumps in but ten seconds later Campbell appears.

I hate Heather.

"What the hell is going on!?" Campbell yells.

"Perello got stabbed. No ORs available," Doctor Leighton says.

"Procedure states…"

"Screw procedure!" He yells. "Now stop standing there and actually help!"

It's not long before Campbell jumps in however Perello's vitals are dropping fast. Before we can react her heart stops completely.

"Maya! CPR please!" Doctor Hudson says.

I move quickly passing over what I was doing to Campbell and start CPR. I go for nearly a minute before we try the pedals. But nothing.

We try for over ten minutes. We try to resuscitate her.

We try.

And we fail.

"Time of death four twenty three AM," Doctor Leighton says as I step down. Breathing heavily and covered in sweat and blood.

I look around me at the chaos. Christa and Angus were working on Heshman. Malaya was gone to be treated by Mario. Doctor Perello was lying in front of me covered in her own blood and cut open. Doctor Perello was lying in front of me dead.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Heshman being wheeled away. I felt ill. It wasn't right. It wasn't freaking right.

"Hospital procedure states that in the event of any extreme circumstances those involved are to be taken off shift and remain in the hospital," Doctor Hudson says. "As it is a Code Black attendings can stay on as well as Senior nurses. Any Residents and so on have to stay away from patients."

Everyone gives a series of yes's and nods. I start to shake slightly as I realise the magnitude of the situation and I have to concentrate on my breathing to stop myself from freaking out.

"At the moment, nobody can go into the locker room," Doctor Hudson continues. "Until it's cleared by the police nobody is to go in there, so anyone who has just been taken off the shift please go to the staff lounge or someplace else in the hospital while keeping your pagers on."

I barely hear him this time. As something dawns on me.

"Who's going to… who's going to call the morgue?" I whisper.

"I will," Doctor Leighton says. "Nobody touch her but cover her up. Let's regain some of her dignity."

We all stand in shock for a while. Campbell and Heather are the first to leave. Then Angus and Doctor Leighton. Eventually everyone filters out leaving me and Christa. I pull off the gown and gloves revealing my hands to be covered in blood as well as my trousers and top. I start to shake uncontrollably.

Me and Christa had been opposites. She was now reasonable while I was the one losing it.

"Let's get you out of here and cleaned up," Christa says quietly "We both need cleaned up."

I nod and follow her numbly out of centre stage as it dawns on me.

The ER director was dead.

Doctor Gina Perello was dead.


	57. Chapter 57: LEAVING

**_Chapter 57:_** LEAVING

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I sit alone in a service corridor bouncing a stress ball off the wall in front of me. My hands were shaking with the throwing and catching being the only thing to half calm them and I had no clue how long I'd been here for. Christa had managed to get me new scrubs but they weren't Resident ones. They were pink ones from the maternity ward. I'd found a quiet corridor as soon as possible to avoid being seen in scrubs that made me stand out. I wanted to hide. I wanted to think. I needed to clear my head.

Gosh did I need to clear my head.

But that wasn't going to happen.

My head pounds and the nausea that comes just before a migraine hits me in waves. I stop throwing the ball and close my eyes putting my head on my knees taking a deep breath. I pull back when I smell the smell I was trying to avoid and wince.

I still smelt like blood. I may be in new scrubs but because the locker area was closed off there were no showers. And since we were confined to this floor, I had to wait till later.

I'd gotten it off my hands and legs and the majority of it was off my stomach but the smell was still there. A bathroom sink could only do so much.

The panel would begin in a couple of hours. I knew I should get some sleep in one of the on call rooms but I was too shaky and jittery to even think about sleep. My mind was buzzing with thoughts and a feeling of dread settles within me when I realise that after that panel I would have to return to work. The thought makes the pounding in my head worse and I actually felt like I was going to throw up.

I couldn't do this.

The panic hits me all at once and it takes all I have not to let it take over. I felt sick and I knew I just needed to get out of the hospital but I couldn't. I jump when I feel someone sit beside me and look to my right to see Jesse.

And I break.

I let out a small sob and he puts his hand on my shoulder. It takes me a while to calm down but when I do my eyes sting and my throat hurts. My head is worse and I knew if I didn't get my meds into me soon I'd be screwed.

However I now knew one thing.

I had to leave. I had to take the job in New York. I couldn't stay here.

"I'm leaving," I whisper to Jesse.

"Took you long enough," Jesse smirks sadly. I raise an eyebrow confused. "Leanne and I have been watching you trying to find a reason to leave since your grandmother got brought in. We could see you wanted to stay to help but we could also see you didn't want to be surrounded by so much hurt and pain in your own family just to have to go to work to see it more."

"It wasn't easy. I love it here Jesse but I can't…" I trail off. "I had managed to get off all my anxiety meds and depression meds before I came here but since Christmas… It's too much to stay here. I need to go to New York before my health takes a turn."

"You need to look after yourself before you try to fix other people," He says in his understanding way. "I learnt that the hard way in October chica."

"How am I going to tell Doctor Rorish?"

"She'll understand," He says. "It's Mario I'd be worried about. I take it he doesn't know that there's a representative from New York in LA?"

"Wait… There's a representative from New York here!?" I exclaim confused.

"Yeah, Doctor Lisa Cuddy. She runs the unit…"

"Of course she is! Lisa you sneaky…"

"Am I missing something here…?"

"She used to be my Aunt's boss's boss. She was one of those who treated me when I had meningitis and is a close family friend," I chuckle. "She's sneaky, but that's probably from having to deal with House."

"You knew Doctor House!?"

"My Aunt's old boss also treated me for Meningitis," I smirk. "Well when I say treat I mean he made snarky comments and left his team to do the work."

I feel myself finally calm down but before Jesse could respond another voice fills the corridor.

"Nurse Salender, Doctor Cameron, you're due upstairs," They say.

I take a deep breath as I get up and Jesse squeezes my shoulder.

Here we go.

The first part of the panel was the explanation of what was about to happen. Everyone who had any form of involvement with the incident, even if it was just calling for blood or being on the floor at the time, needed to be interviewed. I would be among the last to be interviewed as I had been more involved than pretty much anyone else meaning I would also be getting interviewed by the police.

So here I was on the hospital's administration floor several hours later. It was just after 2PM and I was tired. I'd taken my migraine medication but it had only taken the edge off. I could feel it starting to slowly wear off and I desperately hope that I managed to make it through the interview.

"Maya come on in."

I look up to see Doctor Rorish and quickly stand. I was still in the maternity scrubs and the scrubs I had been wearing when it happened had been taken into police custody as evidence. I follow Doctor Rorish in and sit down in the seat that faces everybody there. I only recognised two faces; Doctor Rorish and Doctor Harbert.

"Hello Doctor Cameron," He says. "Apologies for the wait."

"It's quite alright," I say politely.

"We have some questions for you. We know it will be hitting a raw nerve but please answer as fully and as honestly as you can," Doctor Harbert says. "Understood?"

"Yes sir," I say.

"You were just finishing your shift which resulted in you finding Doctor Christa Lorenson and Doctor Gina Perello, correct?" He asks.

"Correct."

"When we interviewed her Doctor Lorenson said you jumped straight into action unlike her who had gone into shock," He continues. "What made you so different that you weren't shocked by the scene in front of you?"

"I don't really understand the question…" I say confused.

"Let's put it this way," One of the people sitting at the table says. "You as a resident stayed calm in a very stressful situation while other residents crumbled around you. What made you so special?"

"You think I stayed calm? Just because I didn't freak out there and then doesn't mean I didn't freak out. Currently I have a migraine and am shaking," I say raising my shaking right hand and pointing at it. "I'm just better at controlling it. I'm not exactly shy to traumatic events. So far I've had an aunt nearly get HIV from this job, a boss get stabbed and a boss get arrested. I interned under the likes of Gregory House, Robert Chase and Remy Hadley. I'm no stranger to traumatic situations, sir."

"So you're saying you were in shock?" He says. "Doctor Cameron did that affect your judgement?"

"Of course I was in freaking shock!" I exclaim. I then take a deep breath pushing back my anger. "If I hadn't have been in shock I would be concerned. My shock had nothing to do with what happened. By the time we got Doctor Perello to Centre Stage she had lost nearly two litres. We tried but…"

"You seem to have a habit of getting into big accidents and rule breaking incidents don't you?"

"What?"

"In November you tried to treat yourself with Adrenalin for Hypothermia which was cause by a building collapse. You operated on a cyclist. You were the one who caught on to the Chlorine poisoning in a nineteen year old victim. But you have also had your fair share of losses," One of the women says. "A young child and a teenage girl being among them."

"I don't understand where exactly you're going with this," I say confused.

"One of those losses happened the night before Gina Perello's death," She says. "But you also had a loss a few weeks ago and we think due to it you as well as everyone in trauma one missed something."

"Excuse me?"

"We have evidence showing Gordon Heshman in the hospital being treated over seventeen times for different ailments under different names," She says. "One of those times he was being treated by you for broken ribs and sprained ankle."

"I… I treat hundreds of people per week. Everyone on trauma one does," I say. "You expect me to remember a patient who had an injury identical to at least a tenth of my patients?"

"She has a point…" Doctor Rorish mumbles which gets her a glare.

"Do you want to know what I see?" I say as my anger swells inside me. "I see people grasping at straws. The ER director just died and you have no clue why. You have no clue how security didn't pick up on Gordon Heshman or how that mishap resulted in someone dying and someone getting severely injured. And because of this you are trying to pin it on the residents and attendings of this hospital. The residents and attendings that tried to save Doctor Perello. We tried our best to save her. There was nothing further we could have done and that's because of how stupidly understaffed this hospital is. Don't try to pin this on us because of you bureaucrats and your inability to deal with finances and people."

"Excuse me!?"

"Until you can ask questions to actually piece together what happened last night and not questions that have nothing to with it, I'm done," I say standing up. I had no clue where the outburst came from but I'd gone too deep now.

"Doctor Cameron get back here," Doctor Harbert says but I ignore him and walk out.

I was angry. Furious even. Someone was dead and they were trying to blame the people who saved her!? I was slightly glad I was leaving but something dawns on me. There would be bureaucrats everywhere.

I withhold from screaming and take out my phone dialling the number for Cuddy.

"Hello?"

"Cuddy I know why you're here. Let's meet up."


	58. Chapter 58: EXHAUSTED

**_Chapter 58:_** EXHAUSTED

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"She's not allowed on shift until she's through with the panel," Doctor Harbert says and it takes all I have not to lash out again.

"She is our best resident and we are in a code black! We cannot take her off this shift!" Doctor Leighton exclaims.

"Well you can blame her for not being able to work the shift," Harbert says.

"Well I'm sorry I said what everyone was thinking," I grumble.

"Watch your tone!" He snaps.

"Maya with me please!" Doctor Rorish yells from behind me before I can respond.

I give a curt nod towards Doctor Harbert and quickly follow Doctor Rorish. She leads me to an empty service corridor and gives me a stern look before smirking at me. I give her a confused look.

"You are really good at butting heads with people aren't you?" She smirks at me.

"Only when they really annoy me," I say leaning against a wall. I was exhausted. I was nearing the forty-eight hour mark for no sleep and that was pushing it even for my standards. The nausea from my migraine hits me in waves despite me having thrown up about twenty minutes ago. "Also due to the fact I haven't slept in nearly forty eight hours and have a migraine so bad that I feel like my skull is being ripped open, I'm hardly in a civil mood!"

"Are you okay?" She asks gently.

"How about an easier question?" I mumble rubbing my eyes. "I'm good with music, history, general knowledge…"

"Maya, cut the crap," Doctor Rorish says. "Jesse told me about your breakdown. He gave no details but he told me that I should talk to you."

"I'm exhausted," I mumble pulling myself onto the broken gurney beside me. I knew it would hold as the wheels were just broken.

"Exhausted? In what way?"

"I've been fighting for so long. Fighting my past and my depression and my anxiety…" I mumble as she sits beside me. "When I arrived at this residency I was fine. I was off all my meds bar my anti-histamines, sleeping tablets and antibiotics. I was finally at a good place in my life and that carried on until Deeken showed up. I tricked myself into thinking I was okay. But the thing is. I am not okay."

That's when the tears start to fall.

"When Gran got the stroke I started to block everything out. I threw myself at work. I thought if I could help other people it would help me but Gran was worse. She was going to live but she got worse. Then I thought Mario was cheating on me. Emma hangs on by the skin of her teeth but in actual fact her kidneys have been getting worse. I want to help people but in actual fact I can't help those closest to me. I can't help myself. When I found Perello I freaked out but because people didn't see me do it they think I'm cold. I stayed calm and yet she still died. I… I can't do this."

"You're leaving aren't you?" Doctor Rorish says.

"Yeah…" I mumble. "I am."

"What exactly is the residency in New York?"

"An accelerated surgical residency which is then followed by a fellowship in trauma care," I say.

"Are you sure this is what you want? I mean the residency in New York that you're going to is way more intense."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I need away from _everything_ ," I mumble. "I have no family in New York. No connections. The only person from my past there will be Cuddy and she doesn't have any bad things about her. I need a fresh start."

"We'll miss you," She whispers. "I'll miss you."

"This decision wasn't easy," I mumble. "I may not be in a good place but I love the people here."

"I know."

"How am I going to tell Mario?"

"Just talk to him. It's all you can do," She says.

I nod.

"But first get some sleep. I'm sure there's an on call room free somewhere," Doctor Rorish says. "You look awful."

"To be quite honest I'm just gonna sleep here," I mumble lying down. My head had reached the point where I was ready to cry and all I wanted to do was sleep.

"Oh the joys of being an exhausted resident," Doctor Rorish chuckles getting up.

"Awk shush," I mumble.

I don't hear what Doctor Rorish says next as I'm out in seconds.

 ** _Doctor Rorish's POV_**

"You're lucky I'm not going to be your boss for much longer…" I chuckle but trail off as I find Maya completely dead to the world.

I smirk and push her messy hair out of her face. That's when I find that she has a slight temperature. I sigh and realise that Maya had been fighting a migraine longer than she had let on. She was a fighter though. I'll give her that.

I put a random clean blanket over her and leave her be. She needed to sleep. She needed all the sleep she could get if she was going to face Ed again. I move to find him quickly. I find him in his office looking over a file.

"We need to talk," I say. "About Maya."

"Yes we do," He says. "I thought you had better control over your residents Lea. I'm actually surprised at how much Doctor Cameron has gotten away with."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act all innocent! So far Doctor Cameron has been the centre of some huge surgeries and huge rule breaks. How has she never ended up at a panel or a review board?"

"Because she is the best doctor we've seen in a very long time," I say firmly. "Her actions weren't drastic. She followed the rules and orders. If you want someone to blame, blame Mike or Cole. Hell even blame me."

"Why are you protecting her?" Ed says his voice dripping with confusion.

"She's one of my residents. A resident who has shown more promise in trauma medicine than I have seen since Neal walked through those doors."

"I'm not going to ask you again Lea. Why are you protecting her?"

"Because she reminds me of myself when I was that age," I say truthfully.

"Really?"

"Yeah. She's stubborn as hell and is unconfident when everyone around her can see that she is good. Brilliant even."

"It's like looking in a mirror," He says.

"It is."

"Don't let her go off the rails again," He says.

"Well we don't have to worry about for much longer," I say. "She's leaving. I don't know when as she hasn't said or given in her letter of resignation but she's leaving."

"It's a shame she would have made a good traumatologist," He says seriously.

"She is going to become a good traumatologist. Just not here."

"Wish her my best even though she probably won't want to hear it."

"I will," I say heading towards the door but I stop. "And Ed?"

"Yes Lea?"

"I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry about Gina."

"Me too. Me too."

And with that I leave.


	59. Chapter 59: LAST KISS

**_Chapter 59:_** LAST KISS

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"Mario, we need to talk," I say grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away from the nurse's station.

"Okay…" He says confused as I drag him into an on-call room.

It had been two days since the panel had closed. I had finally been cleared to work in the ER but I hadn't told anyone I was leaving. However it was being announced tonight as I was leaving in two weeks. I had a meet up with Cuddy who explained the position. I would be working in a state of the art hospital with a specialist trauma facility. When I first go to New York I'll be staying in a hotel room until I get an apartment.

I was fine with all that. I just wasn't fine with having to tell Mario.

"I need to tell you something and I need you not to freak out or yell or get annoyed…" I say quietly.

"Maya, what's going on?!" He says in a scared tone.

"Do you remember that job offer I got about a month ago?" I ask leaning on the door.

"Yeah the one in New York. What about it?"

"I'm leaving in two weeks," I whisper.

"What!?" He whispers back, his voice weak and shocked.

"It wasn't an easy decision but it still happened so fast," I mumble.

"When was it made official?"

"Yesterday."

"When is the rest of the staff being told?"

"Later on in the shift," I whisper.

"What happened?" He whispers and it's that one question that breaks my heart. "Was it something I did? Could I have helped more?"

"No. It was not you," I whisper taking his hands into mine. "You are the reason I stayed for so long. You are the only reason that I feel that I can stay. You are the reason I'm finding it so hard to leave. I love you but I have to leave LA. I can't be in LA anymore."

"I love you too," He says softly taking my face into his hands. "I love you so much."

He kisses me then. Softly. But it feels like it's our last kiss and I start to cry.

"Why does that feel like our last kiss?" I whisper.

"I don't want it to be. I really don't want it to be," He whispers. "But you made a huge life decision without even talking to me."

"Mario, please…" I beg knowing where this was going.

"Long distance relationships rarely work," He whispers. "And after you not even talking to me…"

"Mario. Please don't do this…" I beg again as I start to cry properly.

"Maya I love you but I feel like I can't trust you anymore," He says.

"Mario, let's talk about this!"

"In two weeks you won't be here to talk about it!" He exclaims. "I'm sorry Maya but I don't think I can cope with you being so far away. I'm sorry."

"Mario…"

"We're done," He says and with that he walks out.

It's the slam of the door that starts me crying. I slide down the wall and pull my knees to my chest. It takes nearly ten minutes for me to calm down but when I do I look like a mess. I take five minutes to wash my face and to make myself look presentable but by the time I do I've taken too long. I look up from the sink to see Doctor Rorish at the door.

"Sorry," I whisper. "I'm on my way to trauma one now."

"Maya, what's wrong?" She says, obviously seeing how pale I was.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to finish the sentence without crying again," I whisper leaning against the bunk bed beside me. "And I feel weak for it but it's true. I will cry again."

"It's okay to cry," Doctor Rorish smiles. "Hell you've seen me do it before."

"I just told Mario I would be leaving in two weeks," I mumble. "He didn't take it well."

"How bad?"

"Mario just broke up with me," I whisper barely getting the words out. "I should have seen it coming. I mean he's out of my league and I didn't talk to him about me taking the job. I had it coming."

"Awk Maya it is not your fault," Doctor Rorish whispers.

"It is though," I whisper as the tears start to fall. "I am crap with relationships. My relationship with Deeken failed because I didn't see that we were drifting and that he was getting bored. So he cheated. I didn't communicate with Mario and that resulted in him leaving."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Not yet. I'm telling everyone after the shift," I whisper wiping my eyes. "I nearly made it without crying again."

"Come here," Doctor Rorish says before giving me a hug. I receive it awkwardly at first but after a few seconds I start to cry harder. "You're a good doctor Maya. We'll miss you."

"It wasn't an easy decision," I mumble into her shoulder.

"I know," She says pulling back. "It will get easier. Soon your heart will heal."

"Gosh I wish that was true," I whisper. "You saw what Deeken did to me and I fell so much harder for Mario."

"Awk Maya."

"It's a Cameron thing though," I mumble. "We run in head first and don't think. We then don't talk about our feelings or issues. It's pretty much why my aunt is on her third husband."

"Third husband!?"

"First husband died and the second marriage fell apart over a medical malpractice issue," I explain.

"I'm not going to ask about the second one… I don't think I want to know…"

"Probably a good thing," I smirk. "It did happen while I was in med school though so I don't know all the details and it was House so goodness knows what happened."

"You knew Doctor Gregory House!?"

"He 'treated' me for meningitis and was my aunt's old boss," I explain. "I thought we'd already ben over this?"

"Probably but it was probably in a code black…" She smirks. "Speaking of we are currently in code red. Time to get back out there."

"Thank you for listening," I say. "And thank you for understanding."

"It's not a problem Maya."

And with that we head back to the chaos of the Angels Memorial's ER.


	60. Chapter 60: NEW YORK

**_Chapter 60:_** NEW YORK

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Two weeks later_**

"Maya have you got everything!?"

Aunt Ali's voice sounds through the apartment and I inwardly groan. I was moving house, not climbing Everest. That was the fifth time she had asked that in twenty minutes and I was getting fed up. I can see Christa sniggering at me in the corner and Angus trying not to burst out laughing.

"Yes and if not Doctor Rorish says she'll mail it!" I call back as I tape up one of the last boxes.

"For the last time it's Leanne!" Doctor Rorish calls from the kitchen.

Everyone from work bar Mario and Doctor Hudson were here helping with the move. Well when I say helping Doctor Rorish, Malaya and Jesse were helping with the boxes while Angus and Christa were sniggering at me as I struggled with the tape gun.

"It would be helpful if you two pitched in," I smirk at them.

"There's only one tape dispenser," Angus smirks back. "And I'm more of a heavy lifting kind of guy."

"You do not want me we a tape dispenser," Christa chuckles. "You should have seen me trying to move to LA… That was a disaster!"

"I'm not even going to ask about what happened there," I smirk rolling my eyes.

"When's the storage company coming?" Angus asks.

"In about twenty minutes," I say as I finally finish taping the boxes.

"We're going to miss you and your cowboy methods," Christa says quietly.

"I'm going to miss you too," I reply turning my head away from them. "I didn't make this decision easily."

"We know you didn't," Angus replies softly. "But you better visit or we will go to New York and hunt you down."

"Of course," I smirk.

"Maya storage is here!" Aunt Ali yells. "Are you ready?"

"Pretty much!" I say. "The boxes are all taped."

"Now I can help!" Angus grins before lifting a box.

"I'll help but don't expect me to lift anything heavy," Christa says following Angus's example.

Before I can grab a box myself I'm stopped by Doctor Rorish walking into the room and grabbing my arm. I give her a confused look.

"Maya, a quick word," She says quietly.

"What is it Doctor Rorish?" I ask confused.

"It's Leanne."

"What is it Leanne?" I ask.

"I got you a gift," She says and I raise an eyebrow. "Nothing big just something a doctor needs."

I watch as she pulls out a long box and hands it to me I take it suspiciously. I open it carefully and smirk when I see it. Inside was a dark purple stethoscope with the words _Doctor Cameron_ engraved on it in white. Typical Doctor Rorish.

"I thought since you got a new job you'd need a new fancy stethoscope," She smiles.

"Thank you," I smile. "You really didn't have to."

"But I wanted to," She smiles. "Look you are to come back and visit because I will hunt you down if you don't."

"I'll try," I say seriously. "But you know that the schedule of a surgeon is busier than an ER doc."

"Even better you're going to be becoming an ER surgeon," She says. "I know you'll be busy but do come back."

"I'll try but with Mario…" I mumble.

"Things still aren't good between you two are they?"

"No and I'm not sure things will be good again," I whisper. "He has refused to speak to me since we broke up and has done everything in his power to avoid me."

"How are you holding up?"

"It didn't even hurt this much when I broke up with Deeken," I whisper. "It's going to take a while for me to get over him."

"You still love him don't you?"

"Yes," I whisper. "I… I still love him."

"Awk Maya…"

"I don't want sympathy," I whisper. "I just need to get over myself."

"It's okay to hurt," She says softly.

"Well I don't have a choice but to move on," I say. "I have four years' worth of residency training and two years' worth of fellow training after that to get through. I have no time to feel sorry for myself."

"Six years… Wow…"

"It would have been seven but they took a year off because of my year here," I explain. "I'm currently twenty three. By the time I finish I'll be twenty-nine. I'm not going to have time to mope about or find a new relationship."

"Why am I not surprised you're the youngest in the residency group?" She chuckles.

"I did an accelerated medical degree. I got a scholarship for Harvard due to getting the highest mark possible on the MCAT. I was always going to be the youngest."

"Show off."

"I wouldn't be a Cameron if I didn't show off," I smirk.

"We're going to miss you," She says pulling me into a hug.

"I'm going to miss you guys too," I whisper into her shoulder.

With that I pull away and pick up a box. Leaving this place is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do but I had to. Every time I saw Mario it felt like my heart was being ripped out all over again. Getting out of bed to just go to work was nearly impossible. I would miss Crista, Malaya, Angus, Jesse, Neal and Leanne but it would hurt too much to have to see Mario. To have to see Gran struggle so much. To have to see Emma's kidneys slowly fail.

I had to go despite the fact it felt impossible.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Four days later_**

"Maya!"

I turn round to find Lisa standing behind me holding a small duffel bag and I smile. I had just walked into Manhattan United Medical Centre, my new place of work. It had been a nightmare getting here as I had to get a train and since I hadn't got to grips with New York yet. The hospital was state of the art and the complete opposite of Angel's. It wasn't understaffed or facing strikes or in desperate need of being modernised.

But then again it was privately run.

"Lisa," I smile as she catches up with me.

"Glad I grabbed you before you headed up there," She smiles. "How are you finding New York?"

"Busy. It's way different to LA," I say. "And getting here was a living nightmare as well."

"Welcome to New York," She smirks. "We're really glad to have you here though."

"I'm glad to be here," I smile sincerely. "I needed a change."

"Well this is the place for that," Cuddy smiles and then raises the duffel bag. "Your scrubs. I needed to get them specifically for you as residents and attendings have different colours as well as writing on the back."

"That's why you wanted my size," I smirk.

"It is. Now I'll show you where you get your ID and then to the resident changing rooms," She says and I quickly follow her.

-CODE BLACK—

"Blondie you're on my service today! What's your name?"

I turn around to find a woman in her mid-thirties in dark green scrubs. She has long brown hair and blue eyes and is built like a runner. I feel her studying me and I instantly feel uncomfortable. I was now wearing maroon scrubs with the word RESIDENT on the back of the scrub top. The scrub bottoms had way more pockets than my previous ones which was a bonus as now I didn't have to wear a utility belt.

"Maya Cameron," I say walking over to her.

"Okay Doctor Cameron, I'm Doctor Denise Saunders," She says. "You can call me Doctor Saunders or just Saunders. I am the attending Gynaecologist and Obstetrician Surgeon and I subspecialise in maternal fetal medicine, fetal surgery and neonatal surgery. I also dabble in peds."

"What do I do as part of your service?"

"Well you're one of my residents so if you mess up it's on me, so don't mess up," She says. "Do as I say at all times and this will work. Since you are also doing a double residency you will be spending a lot of time in the ER as well as the OR. For today you will be shadowing me and showing me what you can do."

"With like OBGYN?" I ask.

"I know your back ground Blondie," She smirks. "You were the rising star in Angel's Memorial. The cyclist operation, the building collapse save, the chlorine catch… I know you're good under pressure but those were trauma situations. I want to see how you cope out of your comfort zone. Hence your first service placement being with me, in one of the hardest surgery specialities out there. Understand?"

"Yes mam."

"You're learning Blondie," She says as she starts walking. I quickly follow. "However don't call me mam. It makes me feel old."

"Yes Saunders."

"Good, you're quick," She smirks. "Now I have two planned surgeries today and a whole load of post ops and consults. You never know there may be a fun one come up. Now let's teach your LA ass."

"Yes Doctor Saunders."

And with that we quickly go into the busyness of the hospital.

-CODE BLACK-

I sink into my seat in the cafeteria I try to relax. I have been with Doctor Saunders for five hours and I was already exhausted. Here everything was all go. Once you filled out one form you had another patient to see which resulted in another form which when finished came another patient… The cycle continues. The two surgeries that she had mentioned were soon, one being in forty five minutes. I was excited for them and dreading them. The woman was mental.

"Hello newbie!"

I jump slightly when someone drops into the chair beside me. It was a tall man with short blonde hair and brown eyes and to be quite honest he was nice on the eyes. He was built like a football player and carried himself well. He was in the same scrubs as I was so I knew he was a resident.

"Hi," I say confused.

"You must be Maya Cameron," He says in a giddy tone offering me his hand. "I'm Eli Young fellow classmate however I'm under a different attending."

"Nice to meet you," I say shaking his hand.

"You're overwhelmed aren't you?"

"A bit," I mumble. "I transferred from Emergency Medicine at Angel's Memorial in LA."

"You didn't?" He smirks. "That's like the best Emergency Medicine placement in the country."

"Yeah I guess."

"That means you'll fit right in here," He chuckles patting my arm. I raise an eyebrow. "Oh don't worry I'm not hitting on you. I mean you're hot but I don't swing that way honey."

"I didn't say that…"

"I was just making sure," He smirks. "Look you need friends here and I will be your first. I have three rules. One don't kill anybody, two always keep a spare pair of scrubs in your locker and three don't piss of Saunders."

"The first two I get but why the third…?"

"Oh you'll see," He chuckles.

Before I can respond I hear Saunders voice from across the cafeteria. I sink into my seat and restrain from groaning.

"BLONDIE WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY SURGERY!"

"Have fun," Eli smirks as I get up.

It was going to be a fun six years.


	61. Chapter 61: NATURAL

**_Chapter 61:_** NATURAL

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"This job is freaking mental!"

I was currently in my hotel room pacing up and down. I was on the phone with Doctor Rorish who had made me call her to update her on my first day. I could hear her trying not to laugh and I'm glad it's not Aunt Ali or she would be laughing.

"It's a surgical residency. It's supposed to be mental," She says.

"Yeah mental is stitching a guy's neck up on your first shift and doing intubations, this job is just insane!" I exclaim. "My first day was with the gynie squad!"

"Seriously?" Doctor Rorish says and now I knew I had her attention.

"Try two major surgeries in one go!" I say sitting down on the edge of my bed. "Appendectomy and a C-Section caused by Preeclampsia and then Peritonitis which was a result of the Sepsis caused by the Preeclampsia!"

"You're not becoming an OBGYN surgeon then are you?"

"I mean the surgeries were pretty cool and she let me do the appendectomy solo but no… I am not becoming an OBGYN. I don't really do kids under the age of five," I say.

"Why don't you tell me about the surgeries?"

"Really?" I say excitedly. "You want to hear about it?"

"Of course," She says and I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Well it was just after lunch…"

-CODE BLACK-

"BLONDIE WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY SURGERY!"

"Have fun," Eli smirks as I get up.

I move quickly to the side of the cafeteria Saunders is on dumping the remainder of my lunch in the bin and cleaning area. Saunders was smirking at me with a strange look and I try to ignore it. What is she up to?

"What we got?" I say.

"Soon to be mother in her third term has been brought into the ER with severe headache, abdominal pain and nausea," She says as we walk towards the ER.

"Preeclampsia?" I ask.

"Seems like it," She says as we arrive we're with the patient in seconds. "Let me lead. Watch how I do it."

"Yes Saunders," I say as she picks up the chart.

"Hello Haley," Doctor Saunders smiles. "I'm going to try and help you the best I can today. This is Doctor Maya Cameron, she's a first year resident. She's under my service today."

"Nice to meet you Doctor Cameron," She grunts out. "What's wrong with me doc?"

"I'm thinking you have something called preeclampsia," Saunders says softly. "I'm going to run some tests but if it is we're going to have to deliver you're baby."

"But I'm only thirty-four weeks! Isn't that not really dangerous?" Haley says in a panicked tone.

"We might be able to hold off but it might be too dangerous to wait depending on how bad it is," Doctor Saunders says reassuringly. "And if we do need to deliver you baby it will be okay. This hospital has the best neonatal unit in the country. The earliest a child has been born and survived is twenty one weeks and triplets are usually born at thirty three weeks. If we need to deliver, things will be okay. But we aren't there yet so please try and relax."

"What are the tests?" She asks in a slightly calmer tone.

"Just a simple physical exam, blood test and a urine test. It won't take long," Doctor Saunders smiles. "Do you mind if I let Doctor Cameron do it? This is a teaching hospital but I know she's good. She knows her stuff."

"Of course," Haley says quietly and Saunders gestures for me to do the exam. I quickly pull gloves on.

"Haley I'm just going to do the blood test first okay?" I say gently grabbing the blood kit and she nods. "I'm going to asks some questions about your medical history and symptoms. Is that okay?"

"Yeah of course," She says quietly. "What do you need?"

"Is this your first pregnancy?" I say prepping her right arm. I roll up her sleeve and gently place on the tourniquet. I quickly wipe the area. "You're going to feel a slight pinch."

"Yeah it is," She says as I careful insert the needle.

"And how old are you?"

"Thirty-three… Ow!"

"Sorry that's me done," I say sympathetically as I secure the vials in the test cylinder. "Do you have a family history of preeclampsia? Any pre-existing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease…?"

"My mom had preeclampsia when she had me but that's it," She says surely as I attach the blood pressure cuff.

I quickly do the test and find that her pressure is higher than it should be. _140/90._

"One forty over ninety," I say to Doctor Saunders as I put the cuff away. "Haley could you tell me your symptoms?"

"I have a headache that won't shift with meds. My heartburn is worse than it usually is. My vision is messed up and I'm throwing up way more than usual. And then there's this pain under my ribs that is killing me," She says as I gently feel her glands in her neck. _Swollen_. "I also don't feel hungry and everything feels more swollen that usual."

I grab the thermometer of the wall and carry on with my exam. I find a high fever, pain when I press gently on her lower right hand side, find that she has had low urine output recently and more swelling in the feet and hands. It was almost definitely preeclampsia but I'm thinking it may not be just that. Maybe the appendix…

"We're just going to get these samples to the lab and we'll be right back Haley," Doctor Saunders smiles as I finish up.

"Thank you doctor," Haley smile weakly.

We're not far down the corridor to the lab before Saunders is questioning me.

"So Blondie what are we thinking?" She asks.

"Preeclampsia and Appendicitis," I say. "She has the exact symptoms for preeclampsia but she's also exhibiting symptoms that fit sepsis and appendicitis. There usually isn't a fever with preeclampsia and there was tenderness in the lower right of her stomach."

"Good catch," Saunders smirks. "We'll run the tests and then tell her she needs to deliver and surgery."

"Yes Doctor Saunders."

"One last thing, who taught you how to do blood draws?"

"I learnt them in med school…" I say confused.

"After the surgery go to the practise labs. You need to scrub up on them. They shouldn't hurt."

"Yes Saunders."

"Good, now let's go."

-CODE BLACK-

"Blondie can you tell me why I'm making a vertical incision?" Saunders asks as she makes an incision from Haley's belly button to her pubic bone.

"It minimises blood loss and procedure time. We can also use the same incision to remove the appendix," I say surely.

"And what all do I remove while I'm doing the C-section?"

"The baby, placenta and the waters as they haven't broken. The amniotic sac is left intact until removed," I say.

"You know you're stuff Blondie. I didn't expect that from an ex emergency medicine resident," She says and I can the smirk.

"One of my friends had to do a C-section in the back of an ambulance on our first day in Angel's," I explain. "I was there when Doctor Rorish talked her through it. However I was stitching some boy's neck up at the time."

"At least I know you're a fast learner."

I watch her do the C-section paying close attention to every incision she makes and every tiny hand movement. I had no intention of going into OBGYN but I knew I needed to learn everything I possibly could. It's not long before Doctor Saunders has completed the C-Section. She takes the baby, a girl, and brings her to the side, leaving the other OBGYN surgeon to remove the amniotic sac which they do relatively quickly. They stitch the incisions quickly with Z-stitches but I was more concerned about the fact the child wasn't crying.

"Doctor Robinson talk Doctor Cameron through the appendectomy please?" Doctor Saunders says and I can hear the concern in her voice.

"Yes Doctor Saunders," Doctor Robinson says as I move round to the side of the appendix. He then turns to me. "You know what to do?"

"Yes Doctor Robinson," I say as I stretch my left hand out to the scrub nurse. "Retractor."

I take the instrument and gently retract the cecum. I carefully try to locate the appendix but I have difficulty. Okay extend the incision.

"Scalpel please," I say. "I'm going to extend the incision. I don't have visibility of the appendix."

"Good call," Doctor Robinson says.

I quickly extend the incision and as soon as I do so I see the appendix clearly. It's definitely infected and from the looks of things if we hadn't have caught it would have burst. Before I can say anything I hear the baby start to cry. Oh thank goodness.

"Clamp then scalpel."

I quickly clamp the appendix about 5mm above the cecum and take the scalpel from the nurse. I make the incision carefully making sure that I don't nick anything as I do so. I remove the appendix and set it in the tray beside me but leave the clamp in place. I would remove it after the stitches.

"Suture," I say and the scrub nurse swaps the needle and thread for the scalpel.

"Be careful with this bit Doctor Cameron," Doctor Robinson says. "You need to be gentle. You pull too hard and you cause damage."

"Yes Doctor Robinson," I say as I gently start the ligatures.

I keep my movements slow and gently and make sure I don't over pull. My hands are steady and I keep in my head what Taub had taught me. Slow and steady is always better than fast and botched. I see Doctor Robinson looking over my shoulder.

"Good," Doctor Robinson says as I finish. "What's next?"

"Cauterisation and inversion," I say as I remove the clamp and give it back to the scrub nurse along with the needle and remaining thread. "Cauterisation rod please then the purse string suture."

She hands it to me and I careful cauterise the residual left from the appendix. I set the rod down and then take the suture. Doctor Saunders is now behind me as well watching as I suture the residual appendix and quickly invert it with a Z-Stitch. I quickly finish by handing back the suture needle to the scrub nurse and then removing the retractor.

"Well done Doctor Cameron," Doctor Saunders says after I ask for the irrigation equipment. "You're a natural."

"Thank you Doctor Saunders," I say.

"Finish up here and then meet me for consults," She says as she starts to walk towards the door.

"Yes Saunders."

As I finish up the surgery I begin to realise something. Maybe I was supposed to be in surgery. I hated it before but completing that surgery made me feel like I belonged. I knew exactly what I had to do and how to react.

I could get used to it here.

Maybe I've finally found my calling. Maybe I've finally found my calling.


	62. Chapter 62: OFFER

**_Chapter 62:_** OFFER

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Eight years later (August 2019)_**

"Doctor Cameron can I have a word?"

I turn around to see a tall man standing in the doorway of the Attending's Lounge. He's in a grey suit and has a visitor's pass attached to his jacket pocket. I close the file I was reading and take my reading glasses off letting them dangle from their chain around my neck.

"Of course," I smile getting up. "It will have to be quick though. I have a surgery in forty five minutes and I have to prep my patient. What is it?"

"I'm Doctor Nathan Young from the Lasker Foundation. I've came to speak to you about your research," He says.

"My Infection Prevention research?"

"That and your Incision IV research," He says and with that I'm instantly confused.

What about them?"

"I'm here to discuss the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award," He smiles and I raise an eyebrow. "I am glad to say that you have been nominated for this year's award."

"What!?" I exclaim.

"You have been nominated by Doctor Lisa Cuddy for the award," He says still smiling. "The ceremony is in January and an invitation will be sent out soon. However we have much to discuss."

"Okay I…" I begin but I'm interrupted by my pager.

 _Incoming Trauma – Traumatic crush injuries and amputation_

 _Emergency Room_

"I'm sorry but I have to go," I say grabbing the file and shoving it into my cubby hole along with my lab coat. "Is there any way I can contact you Doctor Young?"

"Here's my card," He smiles handing me a small black card which I chuck in with my lab coat. And with that he leaves, leaving me alone.

Two seconds later I'm powering down the stairs to my patient. My surgery this afternoon would have to wait.

-CODE BLACK-

"Doctor Cameron we need to take extra precautions with this patient," Polly says as I hit the trauma room.

"What do you mean?" I ask as I open the door to trauma room one.

"We have an HIV and AIDS positive patient. Going to need double gloves and mask," She says handing me the mask which I put on before I even see the patient.

Who I have to say is not in a good state.

His right arm looks to be crushed and his left leg is non-existent. Burns are on his torso and chest and he has a severe looking head injury. Breathing is weak and shallow and from the monitor there may be internal bleeding from his low blood pressure.

"I need ortho, neuro and plastics in here," I say gowning and gloving up. "What's his status?"

"We have given him IV fluids and have hung blood but he's going through it at an alarming rate," One of the paramedics says. "He was caught in a factory explosion gaining a traumatic amputation of the left leg, crush injury of the right arm and burns over his torso and chest. Severe injury and possible neck injury. Stats are low. Barely there. Patient is HIV-AIDS positive."

"Okay we need to intubate him before anything else," I say. "But first if anyone is not comfortable for whatever reason for being around the blood of this patient, because this will get messy, leave now."

A nurse and student doctor leaves but everyone else stays. I quickly do the intubation with only slight difficulty with the c-collar and quickly move to let the nurse bag him. My main issue was controlling the bleeding.

"Did you clamp the femoral?" I say as I move to the left leg.

"No mam," The paramedic replies from the corner of the room. I was glad he was staying out of the way. "We only had time to apply pressure and go. The patient crashed twice in the rig."

"Right I need eyewear and a clamp," I say as Eli walks in and immediately goes towards the guys arm as the paramedic explains the situation. "This is going to go downhill fast."

"Clamp to your right," Polly says as I put the eye protection on.

"Stand back a bit Polly," I say as I start to work at the bandages. "You're in the splash zone."

When I pull back the bandages, I'm surprisingly the only who gets hit by the blood. However I get hit square in the face and I'm lucky I have my mouth closed. The mask may have been there but it was only made out of cloth.

I remove the rest of the bandages quickly and assess the damage. The bone was severely damaged and the femoral is beyond repair. Reattachment is not an option. I grab the clamp and quickly move to get to work. I clamp the femoral artery slowing the bleeding and look at the damage. The bleeding had slowed but a lot of bleeding was still happening.

"We need to get him up to the OR now," I say just as Nate takes the head CT. "We'll have to change beds as the wheels of this one is covered in blood and we can't get any of it on the floor."

"Yes Doctor Cameron," Polly says.

We do the manoeuvre easily enough and it's not long before we're bringing him up to the OR. I knew after this I would have to see Doctor Floric after this to get put on prophylaxis. We were all in that room but I was the only one who had got hit in the face with his blood.

Infection that way was small but still possible.

I sigh. It was going to be a long day.

-CODE BLACK-

"You need to see Doctor Floric," Eli says coming up behind me.

"I know. I've got an appointment with him in forty-five minutes," I say setting my pen down. "I'm just going to finish this chart first."

"Good," He says. "You got hit by a lot of blood in the face in there."

"I know the procedure Eli," I say. "It's been a busy day. I didn't have the chance."

"I heard," He smirks. "Congratulations on the nomination by the way. What was it for?"

"My research in infection prevention and incision IVs," I say but before I can continue I hear my name called from behind me.

"Doctor Cameron!"

I turn round to see Polly walking over to me at a quick pace. She looks like she's about to tell me something important and I inwardly groan. I desperately hope this isn't another trauma. I was exhausted.

"What is it?" I ask politely.

"There's a woman here to see you. A Doctor Leanne Rorish," She replies and my jaw drops. "She says it's important."

"Where is she?" I ask.

"I sent her to the attending's lounge," She says.

"I'll go there now then," I say as I finish the chart. "Thanks Polly."

-CODE BLACK-

"Leanne," I smile walking into the lounge to find her standing in the centre of the room.

She's wearing a black leather jacket, an unbuttoned black and blue checked shirt, black vest top, black jeans and boots. She's aged slightly from the last time I saw her but then again the last time I saw her was seven years ago at Neal and Crista's wedding.

"Maya!" She exclaims giving me a look up and down.

I myself had changed a lot over the past seven years. I had learned how to style my hair and do my makeup. My fitness was at its peak with everything being toned and balanced out. I no longer looked weak or pale. New York had done me a world of good. Even in my in my awful looking dark green scrubs I looked stronger.

"You look so different," Leanne grins.

"I've had a lot of time to grow up," I smile. "But that's not the surprising thing right now. What brings you to New York? It's not exactly a short flight to here from LA."

"You actually."

"Oh?" I say confused.

"I'm not sure how much you know about what's happening in LA at the minute so I'll start from the beginning," She says seriously. "The past year has brought a lot of changes to Angel's Memorial. Angus has left to work as a senior attending at LA County. Neal and Crista have moved to Seattle for attending jobs. The OR and ER have been partially combined so I no longer run the ER or trauma one. Guthrie is about to retire. We are in trouble."

"What's this got to do with me?" I ask still not having a clue where she's going to.

"I'm here to offer you an altered version of Neal's position."

Well this day just got weirder.

"Leanne… What are you talking about?"

"The hospital is offering you a position similar to that of Neal's. It will be as a senior attending but you will be working as both an ER doc and surgeon. In essence you will be the link between the ER and OR," She says and to be honest I have to take a deep breath

"I'm flattered, I really am, but today has been a weird day and this kinda just…" I say stumbling over my words. "Look how long are you in New York for?"

"I arrived this morning and I'll be leaving Friday night," She says.

"What about coffee tomorrow to discuss things?" I ask. "I know a coffee shop close to the hospital which means I'm not too far away if I get called in as I'm on call tomorrow. I would do it now but I have a Doctor's appointment in twenty minutes."

"Appointment?" She smirks. "Since when do you go to the Doctor?"

"Since I have to follow hospital procedure," I say and she raises an eye brow. "I may have been exposed to AIDs and HIV."

"How did you end up getting exposed to that!?"

"I had to treat a traumatic amputee victim earlier who was AIDs positive," I say but before I can continue my pocket buzzes and beeps. I quickly pull out my pager.

 _ROOM 30 – ADULT WARD_

 _CODE BLUE_

My liver transplant patient…

"Sorry, I need to go!" I say shoving the pager back into my pocket. "My cubby hole is the one with the photos of me and the bulky guy and my aunt. Please leave your number there and I'll text you later."

"Okay…" She says confused. "Everything okay?"

"My liver transplant patient has caused a code blue," I say. "I've got to go."

"See you tomorrow," She calls after me as I run off.

I think as I run. This job offer had been a shock. I mean a couple of hospitals had given me an offer to use their research facilities but a full on job offer… From Angel's at that.

Not a day went by that I didn't think of LA whether it was my grandfather, cousin or the hospital. Surprisingly LA seemed calm compared to New York.

A lot of things had happened in the past eight years. I had gained a lot and I had lost a lot.

Gosh had I lost a lot.

I had to talk to Damien about this. I needed to think this through.

I enter my patient's room and push the thoughts back. It was time to do my job.


	63. Chapter 63: CHANGES

**_Chapter 63:_** CHANGES

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I walk into the loft close to midnight. I had meant to come off shift at 8PM but I had been dragged into an emergency surgery. My liver transplant patient had developed several complications at once and every time we got one complication under control another took over.

We treated the sepsis with antibiotics. The body rejected the liver

We treated that with increased immunosuppressants. Then the graft failed and the sepsis came back with full force.

We upped the meds but nothing helped. We brought him in to surgery to try and fix it that way but it was useless. He needed a new liver. A liver we didn't have.

"Babe is that you home?"

Damien's voice sounds through the loft and I smile tiredly as I kick off my heels. I lean against the wall as I set my bag down feeling beyond exhausted. I felt dead on my feet and the dull throb of a headache rested on the back of my head. I needed food, shower, tea and bed.

But first I had to talk to Damien.

"Yeah," I say rubbing my eyes and I smile when he comes into full view after walking down from the bedroom.

"You look awful," He says as he closes the distance between us.

"Good to see you too," I smirk sarcastically. "Because you're just a brilliant ray of sunshine yourself."

"You're always beautiful but tonight you look awful," Damien whispers pressing soft kiss to my lips. I smirk and smile weakly as I pull back.

"It's been a weird day," I whisper. "A long hard weird day."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm going to have to," I say. "It's going to affect things in the long run."

"Okay. Then why don't you go and get changed and I'll make some tea?" He says brushing my hair out of my face.

I nod pushing myself off the wall and dragging myself up the stairs. Barely ten minutes go by before I'm sitting opposite Damien at the breakfast bar. He looked adorable and stunning despite it being nearly one AM. His t-shirt clung to him tightly and even in his muppets pyjama bottoms he looked masculine.

He's part Italian. Of course he's masculine.

"So what happened?" He says putting the tea in front of me.

"Well it was supposed to be a normal easy day," I say rubbing my head trying to ease the pain. "I had two standard surgeries planned, a Cholecystectomy and a releasing of peritoneal adhesions op, and then consults. Everything was normal up until ten AM. Then everything went crazy."

"Crazy how?" Damien asks softly as I take a drink of tea.

"Well I'll start with the first thing," I say quietly. "You already know about my clinical research into incision IVs and infection prevention. That the research has made huge differences in emergency medicine and how we treat polytrauma. Due to this a representative from the Lasker Foundation came to speak to me. I have been nominated for the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Research Award."

"Oh my gosh Maya!" He exclaims. "That's amazing! When's the ceremony? Who nominated you?"

"I don't when it is and all I know is that I was nominated by Lisa," I mumble. "Things kind of went nuts after that. Before I was able to respond I was paged to an amputee-crush victim. The thing is that patient had AIDs. Now I do not want you to freak out. This is hospital procedure and it's extremely rare…"

"Maya what the hell are you talking about!?" Damien exclaims.

"Look I got splashed in the face with a patient's blood. I was wearing a mask and safety goggles though," I say. "It's just procedure that the hospital puts you on mediation that's used for treating AIDs despite the fact contracting AIDs in this fashion is highly difficult. I'm on this medication as a precaution. Nothing more. And anyway I won't even know if I'm infected for another six weeks."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Everything was chaos," I say exhausted. "The surgery took almost six hours and then I had to set post op regulations. After that an old colleague from Angel's showed up which I will get to in a second. I didn't even get to talk to her properly as I was dragged into another emergency with my liver transplant patient getting all the complications he could possibly get. He wasn't as lucky as the amputee guy. He didn't make it."

"Awk Maya," He whispers taking my hands.

"Look there's something I need to discuss with you and it's life-changing. For both of us," I say. "I don't have all the details I'll know that tomorrow if you agree to move forward with it."

"What is it?"

"I've been offered a job as a senior attending in LA," I say. "It's what my old work colleague came to talk to me about. Well when I say colleague I mean mentor. She led the resident programme."

"What type of job are we talking about?"

"Basically the surgeon that was the link between the ER and the OR has left. From what I gather it's pretty similar to the job I already hold."

"Okay… Well I think we definitely need to talk about this," He says. "I say I play devil's advocate. You need to convince me why this job is your next move and I have to convince you why this isn't the next step for you."

"Damien if you don't want me to take this job just say," I say. "We are both equal in this relationship. I do not want a decision to be made that isn't good for both of us."

"I'm not saying no," He whispers taking my hands. "We need to discuss this. If this is good for you we should do it. I'm a fire-fighter. I'm sure there are plenty of jobs in LA for a fire-fighter."

I nod staying quiet.

"So what's so great about Angel's Memorial?" He asks.

"It's practically the birth place of Emergency Medicine," I say standing up and pacing, to try and get rid of the excess energy I could feel building up. "This hospital in New York is the lead in medical innovation and the creation of new techniques. Angel's is the place to go for emergency. It's fast paced, unpredictable and stressful but it's where you go to learn emergency medicine and surgery. Going into code black is a regular occurrence and it's where you go if you are hanging by a thread and no other hospital can help. It's the place for one last miracle. I mean the president has a bed reserved there for when he's in town."

"Would you be able to carry on your research?" He presses.

"My research is currently in the testing phase and what best place to do it than the centre of Emergency Medicine. However I'm unsure if they'll even let me do the testing," I say. "Angel's may be good at Emergency Medicine but they're broke. They might not be able to afford to let me continue."

"So there's a downside. There might not be funding," Damien points out. "That's something you need to ask…"

"Leanne," I say and realisation crosses his face.

"You mean the Leanne Rorish that you won't stop talking about?"

"Well she did teach me a lot. She's kind of hard to forget."

"Speaking of people that are to forget…" Damien begins after a short silence and I inwardly groan.

"Mario has nothing to do with this," I say quietly.

Damien knew everything about what had happened at Angel's. Everything from the building collapse to the Pneumonia to my flare in hard cases. And to my relationship with Mario. Mario. The man that took three years to get over.

"I know you are over him Maya but I also know he hurt you and you still feel pain over how that relationship ended," He says.

"What happened with Mario will always hurt," I say keeping my voice surprisingly level. "He was my first serious relationship after Deeken."

"Then there's Deeken. Can you cope with him?"

"He's long gone. He left before the residency class graduated. Crista told me in an attempt to get me back," I say trying to hide my gladness in that. "He's back in New Jersey now from what I was able to find out."

"Do you want this job?" He whispers.

"So much has happened in the past eight years," I whisper back.

"Damn right a lot has happened," He says quietly standing up.

I didn't realise I was shaking until he grabs me to stop me from pacing. He gently but firmly grabs my shoulders and leans his forehead against mine. I automatically feel myself start to calm and I sigh closing my eyes.

"I know a lot has happened in the past eight years," He whispers. "You've loved and lost. You've been hurt physically and emotionally. I'm not saying you should run away from that. I'm not saying you should run away from your problems. I know that's something you're working on with your therapist. But maybe you need a new start."

"I'm sorry. I don't want to ruin your life. What you have is good here. I'm sorry all I do is…" I whisper in a barely audible volume. Tears start to fall and I feel Damien's hands move from my shoulders to hold my face.

"Maya look at me. Please look at me," He whispers and I slowly open my eyes so that it's now brown into blue. Gosh I could look into those eyes for eternity. "You are my life Maya and you can never ruin it. You are my fiancée and if you want to go to LA I will follow you to LA. I would follow you anywhere Maya."

I don't know what comes over me but I lean in and kiss him hard. Damien always had the right thing to say. And gosh did I love him. I loved him.

"I love you," I whisper pulling back still crying. I was breathing heavily and it was taking all I had not to kiss him again.

"I love you too," He whispers. "Now go finish your tea and text Leanne. Then you are going to go to bed. You look exhausted."

"You're not forcing me to eat?" I say raising an eyebrow. "That's new."

"I still think that you need to eat but the look on your face says you're about to drop," He smirks. "You may not make it that far. You'll probably fall asleep with your face in your food."

"That was one time!" I giggle and it causes him to give me the raised eyebrow this time. "Okay I've only done that several times."

"Several times is an understatement if I've ever heard one," He chuckles. "Go text Leanne and go through your bed time routine and I'll clean up down here. I'll then meet you upstairs. Okay?"

"Okay," I smile pulling back and heading upstairs.

Ten minutes later Damien comes up and lies next to me pulling me close to him. I snuggle into him, closing my eyes and he kisses my hair. I felt safe here, which after a day like today I need. I had started the course of Nelfinavir, Lamivudine and Zidovudine and I knew I would get the side effects. Anything that had a chance of causing headaches, vomiting, digestive issues, sleep issues and muscle pain almost always gave me issues.

"Stop worrying," Damien whispers.

"I'm not worrying," I retort back.

"You are," He whispers pulling me closer. "I know you're worried about the job offer and the AIDs scare but you need to relax. It will be okay."

"I'm just worried about the meds," I whisper. "You know what I'm like with side effects."

"We'll deal with that tomorrow," He says quietly. "Now go to sleep."

"Night Damien," I whisper as sleep starts to take over.

"Night Maya."

I'm asleep in a matter of minutes.


	64. Chapter 64: A NEW MAYA

**_Chapter 64:_** A NEW MAYA

 ** _Rorish's POV_**

I sit silently sipping at my coffee waiting for Maya. She was late which isn't surprising. She'd texted me close to 2AM last night. From what I could tell her schedule was busy and had little room for relaxation or rest.

It's like she never left Angel's.

I look up when I hear the door to the café opening. It was Maya and what I see shocks me. In her scrubs yesterday I was able to tell she was stronger and more confident but in normal clothes… She had lost the preppy teacher look and now donned an edgier look with lots of eye liner. She sits down in front of me and smiles as she takes of her jacket.

"Sorry I'm late," She says. "Traffic was a nightmare and I had to drop Damien off to work. You haven't been waiting long have you?"

"About ten minutes. It's okay," I say. It was the truth. The traffic out there was a nightmare. "Who's Damien?"

"My fiancé," She smiles and I can see the genuine happiness in her eyes. She was no longer the heart broken girl that left LA. She was a strong woman with a life.

Her eyes were happy but also had hardness and a steely look to them. Gosh what had happened in the past eight years?

"When did this happen!?" I grin. "When's the wedding?"

"He proposed just over a month ago," She grins happily back. "We're taking it slow at the minute to be honest. We are in no rush as my job is so busy and he just made Rescue Squad. Things are a bit busy right now."

"I heard!" I exclaim. "Well done on the nomination!"

"Thank you," She says blushing but we can't get any further as a waitress comes over and asks Maya what she would like. "Just tea please."

"Since when does the person who would have coffee through an IV if it was possible drink tea?" I asked confused when the waitress leaves.

"I have an upset stomach due to medication I'm on," She says honestly. "Remember the scare I told you about yesterday? They have me on a bunch of meds until my next appointment."

"You always had a weak stomach," I chuckle.

"I could feel a guy's carotid and feel someone's intestines but one bad piece of food and I was throwing up everywhere," She chuckles back.

We fall into silence and I could see that she was waiting for me to bring up the job. I couldn't tell from her expression if she was going to take it or not. But at least she was here. At least she was listening to what I had to say.

"So have you thought about the job?" I say quietly as her tea gets put down.

"Thank you," She smiles. "Yeah, I talked about it to Damien last night."

"And?"

"I have a couple of questions."

"That's understandable. You work in a state of the art hospital. Angel's is almost a downgrade to the hospital you're currently in," I say honestly.

"Aren't you supposed to be selling this job?" She smirks causing me to chuckle. "Okay so what exactly does this job involve?"

"Basically Angel's needs a link between the ER and OR. Campbell has been trying to do it but since he runs both departments it's gotten harder and harder to keep up," I say.

"What do you mean by link?"

"Someone that works both the ER and OR. You'll have your own patients in the OR as a general surgeon but you will work as an emergency surgeon and consultant in the ER," I explain. "Your surgical load won't be as heavy as you would be working as the attending trauma surgeon so therefore will be spending the majority of your time in the ER. However if the OR needs help with patients you would be moved up."

"So basically my current job," She reasons to herself. "What about the ability to carry on with my research? I know Angel's has money issues and my research is about to go into testing phases. A lot of people keep saying that it could save a lot of people."

"It could also benefit Angel's, who will carry on supporting you and facilitate your research. Your IV findings and infection intervention will be invaluable to Angel's and what place better to do it than the birth place of emergency medicine," I say and I can see her features start to change. She was really considering this.

"It's a brilliant offer…" She begins but her pager goes off cutting her sentence short. I watch as she pulls it off her belt and lets out a sigh. "I have to go. I'm being called in. There's been an RTA."

"How bad?" I ask as she returns her pager to her belt and then pulls out her purse.

"If I've been called in, then it's bad," She says pulling the right amount of cash out. Then she looks as if she has an idea. "You're in New York till tomorrow right? This case sounds like a surgical one. Do you want to observe?"

"Sure," I smile shocked she would ask. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"You'd have to stay up in the gallery but should be," She smiles back.

"Sounds good," I smile as she pays for both of us. "Wait Maya you don't have to do that."

"Too late," She smirks. "My car is parked round the corner."

"Car!?" I exclaim. "Since when do you drive?"

"Since they are better than using a train," She says distantly and I knew I shouldn't push. There was something serious behind that. "Let's go."

I follow her out.

-CODE BLACK-

"Clamp! We need to control this bleeding!"

I watch Maya work quickly and to say the least I was impressed. Her fingers are quick and delicate and I can see why the hospital classified her as the best trauma surgeon here. Currently in front of her was a patient with a severe head injury, damaged hepatic portal vein and a ruptured spleen. That has then resulted in severe liver and kidney damage resulting in the need of a transplant for both.

"We're going to have to remove the spleen and the liver. We're going to have to check the kidneys in case they are infected or necrotic," She says. "Get me a portable CT in here too and Dialysis. Contact the donor register to see if there's a match and talk to his family to see if there's a match there."

"Yes Doctor," A nurse says and quickly disappears.

Maya works fast. She clamps the hepatic portal vein and then quickly deals with the spleen. She removes it in almost record time and sutures it quickly. I couldn't see her facial expression under the mask and her hair was secured under a Nightmare Before Christmas scrub cap, which I found adorable.

"She's a good surgeon."

I turn round to see Lisa Cuddy standing behind me smirking. She's wearing a black pencil skirt, black heels, a blue dress shirt and her lab coat. She sits beside me and proceeds to watch Maya.

"Have you convinced her about the position?" She asks. She already knew about the offer. Maya had a contract here and it had to be cleared before she even heard about it.

"I think she's considering it," I say honestly. "I know you don't want to lose her but I think she's considering it seriously."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she took it," Lisa sighs. "She may have went through a lot in LA but here… She is not the same person she was eight years ago. She didn't become a phenomenal surgeon because she just had god teaching and read loads of books. She learnt through heartache and trauma."

"Will she be able to cope with the pressure in Angel's?"

"If she survived here, she can survive anywhere," She says seriously.

What the hell happened to Maya here?

Before I can respond we are brought back to watching Maya operate. The monitors are going insane and I can see Maya frantically searching the abdomen.

"Push eppi and get neuro in here now!" She says over the monitors.

The eppi has no effect and the monitors proceed to let out a high pitched whine. Maya was about to lose this patient. Come one Maya. Come on.

"Start compressions!" She says still searching. "Where the hell is this bleeder!?"

About thirty seconds go by and then I see her. She finds the bleed. I watch as she quickly sutures it and removes the clamp. The bleeding stops but the whine doesn't. Come on. Come on…

"Stop compressions! Charge to two hundred!" Maya says. "Clear!"

Everyone clears the zone and I watch as the shock is administrated. Nothing happens but Maya holds up her hand to signal everyone to wait. What is she doing…? Seconds go by and nothing…

The machine beeps.

"We have sinus rhythm!" Maya grins. "We have a live one everybody!"

My jaw drops. That was clearly a loss…

"Told you she was good," Cuddy smirks and I'm left speechless.

Maya had changed. Maya had definitely changed.

-CODE BLACK-

I walk into the surgeon prep room to find Maya washing her hands. Her surgical gown and mask was now off and I could see she was exhausted and pale but I wasn't surprised. She had been on her feet for at least four hours in that OR, at least an hour in the ER and that wasn't including the heavy medication she was on.

"You did well," I say as she finishes washing her hands.

"I don't feel like it," She mumbles leaning against the sink. "Gosh these meds."

"You alright?" I ask as her face had suddenly gone from pale to green.

She holds up her hand to me and then leans over the bin, proceeding to empty her stomach contents. It takes her a while to stop and I'm glad she still has the scrub cap on as her hair is secure. After about a minute she stops and lets out a small whimper before grabbing a paper towel and wiping her mouth.

"Sorry about that," She mumbles returning to leaning against the sink rubbing her head. "That's been building since midway through the surgery."

"It's quite alright. I understand," I say quietly. "Headache?"

"That's an understatement," She chuckles and then her expression turns serious. "Give me three weeks."

"Excuse me?" I ask confused.

"Give me three weeks and I'll be in LA," She says. "I have some stuff to clear up here first; patients, my resignation, my research… You get the idea. Give me three weeks."

"How did you come to that decision? I mean it's not that we don't want you but you seem settled here," I say still confused. I really thought she was going to decline.

"Look a lot has happened in the past eight years, more than what happened at Angel's," She says. "That surgery back there was a save but I lose too. I may be the best trauma surgeon in this hospital but that means that I get the worse cases. I've seen a lot of death. Maybe I need a change. Maybe I've done my time in New York and I'm ready to go home."

"You see LA as your home?" I grin.

"NY isn't the same as LA. There's no Momma and there's no Daddy. I mean we're like a family but never like the family I had at Angel's," She smiles sadly. "I love it here with its high tech equipment and its location and it's people but I miss Angel's despite the loss I feel in LA."

I knew what she was referring to. Her grandmother had died four years ago and that was the last time she had been in LA. Her cousin Emma had been on shaky ground for at least two years. There must be a lot of pain here if she's willing to move back.

"I'm so glad you're coming back," I grin pulling her into a hug.

"Me too," She whispers returning the hug weakly.

What meds do they have her on!?

"What meds are you on?" I ask bluntly releasing her.

"Lamivudine, Zidovudine and Nelfinavir," She replies with a weak smirk.

"Bloody hell. Any side effects?"

"Headache, nausea, muscle pain, indigestion, fatigue and malaise. So I'm going to go home before I kill a patient by passing out on them," She smiles tiredly.

"I'll drive you," I say.

"You really don't need to…" She begins but stops due to me giving her the look. "Okay fine, but at least let me get changed first. Green scrubs covered in blood are not flattering. I also need to see the patient's family before I leave."

"Of course," I chuckle. I then turn serious as we leave the prep room. "It really is great that you're coming back."

"Thank you," She smiles and with that we fall into silence.

It was great she was back. Maya was Angel's last change. Angel's godsend. If anyone could fix the hospital's ER and OR it was her.

Gosh I hope she could. It was our only hope.


	65. Chapter 65: THE PRODIGAL RETURNS

**_Chapter 65:_** THE PRODIGAL RETURNS

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Three Weeks Later_**

"I can't believe you actually went through with this!"

Eli's voice comes over the receiver as I pull up to the hospital. I was speaking to him on hands free and he had spent the past twenty minutes trying to convince me to come back to New York and not take this job at Angel's. He had obviously not succeeded and I had no intention in coming back.

"Look Eli you know I was struggling at United Medical. This could be a new start for me," I say seriously turning off the ignition.

"Struggling!?" He exclaims. "You're about to win an award!"

"It's been hard since the attack," I whisper. "Even harder since Natalie died. It's been hard. You know that."

"I know and I know that you're reminded of the attack everyday due to your eye sight and scars," He says solemnly as I walk through the front doors of the ER.

"Look I've just arrived so I'll ring you later," I say walking up to reception. "Bye Eli."

"Bye traitor," He chuckles down the phone and with that I hang up as I reach the desk.

"Hi I'm Doctor Maya Cameron," I say politely. "I was told to go to Doctor Will Campbell when I got here. It's my first day."

"Hello Doctor Cameron, I was told to expect you," The receptionist smiles. "Doctor Campbell is in his office in the surgical floor."

"Thanks," I smile.

I make my way through the ER quickly and up to the surgical floor. I was nervous about this. I had always disagreed with Campbell's methods and I knew it was going to be worse now that I have the knowledge to back my disapproval. I knew we were going to clash at every chance we got. I was known as the maverick in New York for a reason.

"Doctor Cameron!"

I turn around to see Doctor Campbell behind me. He has changed at all since the last time I saw him. I see him taking in my appearance in a bit of surprise. No longer was I donning the preppy school teacher look but the edgy badass look. I knew he was expecting me to be the same. Well I wasn't.

"I take it I don't need to orientate you?" He says not giving me time to respond.

"Just on how your surgical board works," I say. "I know every hospital does it differently."

"We'll sort that later then," He says handing me a bag. "Here are your scrubs. I've put black, grey and black in there as well an Angel's fleece and vest."

"Thank you," I say.

"You're shift starts down in the ER," He says. "You don't have any patients at the minute but that won't stay like that for long. Understood?"

"Understood," I say making a move to go to the attending locker room.

"Before you leave Doctor Cameron, I want to make one thing clear," He says before I can leave.

"Which is what?"

"I am your boss," He says seriously. "I know you have authority issues and if I had my way we would have a different surgeon in your place but I did not get my way. Harbert and Rorish seem to think you're the right person for this job but remember this I am your boss. You may be the boss of every surgeon in this hospital and Doctor Rorish's boss but I am yours. My decisions are not to be questioned or argued against."

"I'll agree to that if you don't argue with my decisions which you have done in the past," I say back bluntly.

"We'll see," He says. "Now get to work. We are already in Code Red. It won't be long before we are in Code Black."

And with that I leave, heading to the locker room.

-CODE BLACK-

"Chica!"

I turn around to see Jesse standing behind me beaming. I had just come down from the Attending Surgeon locker room and was now standing at reception in black scrubs, black under armour, a grey fleece vest and black trainers. He gives me a look up and down before pulling me into a hug.

"Hey Mamma," I grin. Gosh it was so good to see him.

"How is my NYC star?" He grins at me pulling back.

"I'm good Jesse although I'm no star," I smirk. "How are you?"

"I'm brilliant as always," He grins. "And you are a star!"

"I'm not," I chuckle. "Believe me I'm not."

"If you say so chica. It really is good to see you though."

"You too Jesse. You too."

I then turn back to the chart I had been looking at when he came down. Twenty year old female with a fever, vomiting and severe stomach pain. Symptoms have been persistent for three days. Came after blood in the stool.

"I'll catch up with you later Mamma," I smile. "I have a patient and we are in code red."

"See you later chica."

-CODE BLACK-

"So Miss Turner do you have back history of stomach issues? Any family back history?" I ask as I gently press on her stomach. She winces slightly. "Sorry about that. Nearly done."

"I'm prone to Diverticular Disease," She says her tone scared. "I've had about three maybe four bouts of it. I wouldn't have come in if it was that. This is different. The pain is constant and I haven't been physically sick with it before."

"Okay, well there's no need to worry about it right now," I say. "I'll run some tests. Just a CT scan and an ultra sound. The ultra sound can be done here and then I'll bring you up to CT. Okay?"

"Okay," She says in a calmer tone. "What do they involve?"

"The ultra sound will just be me putting some gel on your stomach and running a small stick on your stomach. It will show me an image of what's going on in there. If there's something there that's not supposed to be it will pick it up," I say reassuringly pointing at the ultra sound. I'd asked for it when I had read the chart. "The CT scan is like a really accurate X-Ray. It will show me a detailed picture of what's going on. All you have to do is lay in this giant donut and that's it."

"Okay," She says. "That doesn't sound so bad."

"Now if you would please roll up your top to your ribs," I say grabbing the gel. "This is going to be a little cold."

-CODE BLACK-

"She's going to need surgery," I say to Leanne who was standing beside me as I had called her in for a second opinion.

"She is. That's a pretty bad obstruction," She agrees.

"I could fix it with a laparoscopic colectomy," I say. "It will reduce recovery time, remove the obstruction and stop Diverticular disease from recurring again in the future."

"You can do that!?"

"It's a tricky surgery but I've done it before," I say studying the scan more closely. "Getting Campbell to agree to it is going to be hard but I can do it."

"Get me to agree to what?"

I turn round to see Campbell standing behind me and smirk. He had perfect timing.

"I'm going to fix this case of Diverticulitis and Intestinal Obstruction with a Laparoscopic Colectomy," I say and the look on his face says it all. This was going to be fun.

"No."

"Why not?" I ask.

"It's a risky surgery. Surgery is an uncommon solution for this."

"But if we leave it she will get Diverticular disease again which could cause complications such as bleeding, urinary problems, abscesses, fistulas, peritonitis…"

"But there could be another solution!" He exclaims. "Complications from surgical intervention affect one in one hundred. We could try antibiotics…"

"She has had four bouts of Diverticular disease," I say bluntly. "This will stop another episode."

"Can you even do this surgery? It is specialist and incredibly risky."

"So you're now questioning my ability? Doctor Campbell I am a double board certified surgeon. I specialise in trauma surgery, transplant surgery and intensive care medicine. I think I know what I'm doing," I say. "Do not question my surgical ability."

"I have nothing against your ability Doctor Cameron but this is a risky…"

"I agree with Maya," Leanne pipes up and I sigh with relief. "It seems like a good plan."

"And what surgical knowledge do you have Doctor Rorish?" He says sternly.

"It's basic," She says honestly. "But I know enough about trauma medicine to know that if you use antibiotics to treat this she will be back in this hospital by the end of the month."

"Fine," He grunts. "But if you mess this up it is on your ass."

He leaves with that and I look at Leanne in shock.

"Thank you for backing me up," I smile.

"You were right," She smirks and that's when I see the wicked glint in her eye. "And anyway I've wanted someone to bring Campbell down a notch for a long time."

"Thanks Leanne," I chuckle. "I'll see you later. I have a surgery."

-CODE BLACK-

The surgery goes without a hitch and the patient develops no complications.

I knew Campbell now hated me but to be quite honest I didn't particularly care. I wasn't here to make friends with him. I was here to save lives and if the way I did it pissed off Campbell so be it. He would just have to accept I was a good surgeon.

However something didn't feel right. The hospital felt exactly the same as when I had left. It didn't feel as if there had been any medical advancement or improvement in the past eight years and that was backed up by Campbell not wanting me to that key hole surgery. Yeah it was risky but it was hardly uncommon if the doctor knew what they were doing.

Something was off about Angel's and I desperately hope I was wrong.

Because I have a funny feeling I was here to fix it.


	66. Chapter 66: BY THE BOOK

**_Chapter 66:_** BY THE BOOK

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"On my count!" I say over the noise of centre stage. "One… Two… Three… Lift!"

We lift the patient easily onto the fresh gurney and I quickly remove the strapping. I start the checks quickly and find mass damage. There was a puncture wound to his stomach and he had a pretty nasty head injury. His right shoulder was dislocated and left knee cap broken. Goodness knows what sort of internal injuries we were dealing with.

Damn motorcyclists.

"Book an OR now!" I say over the noise. "We need to take him up for a head CT and then X-Ray his shoulder and knee. Get neuro up there too. From the look of that head injury we're going to need them."

"You can tell from just looking at him!?" One of the residents says.

"Look at his pupil response," I say checking his back.

"There are signs of an imminent bleed," She says in shock. "How did you…"

"I've seen enough of this type of head injury to know what it was going to lead to," I say finishing his exam. "We have a puncture wound to the abdomen, probable mass internal bleeding, severe head and neck injury, broken knee and a dislocated shoulder. We need to bring him up to the OR now. Goodness knows how he's still stable."

"Doctor Cameron there's another incoming from the accident!" A nurse calls over the chaos.

We so far had four from that accident. One motorcyclist, two pedestrians and a driver. Three out of that four had been critical.

"Are they critical?" I ask.

"Yes mam."

"Is Doctor Pinkney free?" I say and they nod. "Tell her she has a patient on the way to CT. And get Doctor Savetti in here please."

"Yes Doctor Cameron," She replies.

"Bring him up," I say. "Doctor Pinkney will meet you there. Be careful not to aggravate that shrapnel. If something goes wrong, page me immediately."

I watch as they take him away and take a deep breath and prepare myself for the oncoming patient. I did not want Mario's help but I would need it. We had barely spoken since I had arrived and that was nearly three weeks ago.

"What we got?"

I look up to Mario coming into Centre Stage and his face darkens when he sees me. Our relationship was awkward at best and full out hostel at most. We were broken and probably always would be.

"Another critical patient incoming from the accident," I say professionally as we walk out the emergency back entrance. "I sent the motorcyclist up with Doctor Piel to meet Doctor Pinkney at CT."

"You trusted a critical patient with a resident?" He asked confused.

"I didn't have a choice," I say bluntly. "We are in Code Black and have more patents incoming."

"I wasn't questioning your decision, it was just strange," He says and I inwardly scream. However before I can respond the ambulance arrives and I jump into action mode.

"What we got?" I say.

"Twenty-two year old female, in critical condition," The paramedic says bringing the patient out of the ambulance. "Punctured lung and severe head wound, probable brain bleed. Puncture wounds to the abdomen and dislocated right hip. Broken elbow and collar bone."

"Take her to centre stage so we can stabilise," I say as we lead the patient in. "Then head up to the MRI and CT."

We make it to Centre Stage and carefully move her to the other gurney. I quickly start to assess the damage and plan of attack as Mario hooks her up to the machines and secures the IVs. This could get bad quickly. Make one wrong move and something could rupture or get nicked. Okay, step by step…

"We need to pop the hip back into place and stabilise her elbow and collar bone," I say calmly. "We have to be careful. We do not know how close the rod is to her organs and how bad the lung is."

"Noted," Mario says.

We quickly get to work, removing clothes that aren't needed and clearing the area. There is two puncture wounds to the abdomen; one minor and one severe. Looking at the location the adrenals have most likely been hit but the other looks more superficial. That explains the irregular heartbeat. Looking at the head wound we would definitely need neuro in here. This was going to be a fun one.

"Putting the hip back in now," I say as start to the apply pressure,

The hip pops into place but all the rest goes to hell.

The rod must hit the adrenals because the patient crashes and I'm hit by blood almost immediately, I grab lap pads quickly and apply pressure as Mario starts compressions. It has no effect though and Mario tells Polly to charge the paddles. I quickly clear to let her shock the patient. A few seconds late we have a pulse.

"We have a pulse!" I say returning the pressure. "Bring her straight up to surgery and have neuro meet us there!"

"You're going in blind!?" Mario exclaims.

"The rod has hit her Adrenals definitely and maybe her kidneys," I say. "I can figure out the rest as I go."

"Okay," He says and I'm surprised at how quickly he agrees. "Let's go."

I jump on the gurney and keep the pressure on as we head to surgery. Time to go save a life,

-CODE BLACK-

"Doctor Cameron a Doctor Eli Young is trying to get a hold of you."

I look up into the viewing gallery to see a scrub nurse talking into the line. I inwardly groan. I did not have time for Eli and whatever crisis he was having. I had my hands full. Quite literally. I had a person's liver in my hands.

"Can you tell him to ring me back?" I say still working on the bleeder.

"He really is quite insistent Doctor Cameron," She pushes and I sigh.

"Tell him I'll ring him in two hours," I say. "Once I finish dealing with this patient I'll be free."

"Yes mam," She says.

With that she leaves and I quickly get to work. I still had a lot of work to do here. The liver was severely damaged, the adrenals were just about salvageable and the internal bleeding was massive. The patient was lucky to have made it this far. I certainly wasn't giving up. She was a fighter.

I just wished that I wasn't doing this blind.

"Doctor Cameron how's it going down there?"

I look up to see Campbell in the galley and have to restrain from screaming. I carry on working and try to focus. Would people stop distracting me for five minutes!?

"Severe liver damage. If I can't repair it she'll need a transplant," I say. "I've managed to control the internal bleeding and salvage the adrenals. When I'm done we need to get her to get a head CT. We've been checking pupil response every couple of minutes but there is definitely a bleed. A bleed that if we don't get it fixed it could cause a lot of damage."

"I'll make sure neuro is on standby," He says. "One last thing before I go though."

"What is it?" I say as I continue. "Crap this isn't salvageable. Put her on the transplant list for a new liver and get dialysis in here.

"Do this by the book Cameron," He says and I raise an eyebrow. "You can't risk anything going wrong with this one."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I say confused.

"Just do it by the book," He says vaguely. "That motorcyclist that came in just got pronounced brain dead. He's an organ donor. I'll see if he's a match."

"Thanks Campbell," I say as he leaves. "Clamp."

Something was going on. Something serious. Whatever the hell it was it must have been linked to Eli. Something was coming and it was going to be bad.

-CODE BLACK-

"Nice save," Leanne says as I come out of the OR.

"Thanks," I say washing my hands. "How many survivors were there?"

"Everyone bar the motorcyclist."

"Even then the guy saved that girl," I say. "His liver went to her."

"When did you become a transplant surgeon?"

"I was given the option to do the fellowship alongside my trauma surgery and critical care fellowship," I say. "It made sense. I mean a fair amount of transplant surgeries are a result of severe trauma. On top of that you would have heart disease, cancer, alcoholism…"

"From what I've heard you're a pretty good one," She smiles. "Stories have drifted down from New York of magnificent saves that you have made."

"I wouldn't say magnificent," I smirk. "Bold maybe but not magnificent. I just go with my rule. If they aren't brain dead when they get to me they are saveable."

"Good rule," She smiles and then her expression darkens. "Have you spoken to Campbell yet? What about that doctor… what's his name… Eli Young!?"

"No. I've been in surgery for the past six hours," I say confused. "Why?"

"When you talk to them this card will come in useful," She says handing me a small piece of card. I read it quickly.

 _Silvia Torres_

 _Defence Attorney_

"What would I need a defence attorney for?" I say my confusion turning into fear.

"Maya I can't tell you. The only reason I know it because it may affect your job in the ER," She says seriously causing my heart to drop. "Call Eli Young and he will explain."

"Fine," I say pulling out my phone but she stops me.

"In private," She says and with that she leaves.

-CODE BLACK-

I sit down on the bench in the Attending Locker Room facing my locker. I pull out my phone from my pocket and quickly dial the number for Eli. I have no idea what was going on but whatever it was it had to be serious if Leanne had got involved.

"Maya! Thank goodness! I've been trying to get a hold of you all day!" Eli's voice comes over the speaker panicked and my fear instantly hits new highs.

"Eli what's going on?" I say trying to keep my voice calm. "I was in surgery. I haven't been able to call you."

"We have a problem. Like a big one," He rambles. "I'm not talking about a wee issue that can be fixed but I mean _catastrophically_ bad. Like this could affect our careers…"

"Eli calm down," I say trying to do the same thing myself. Eli was supposed to be the strong and calm one. I had only seen him panic three times in eight years and then only cry twice in two years.

Something was seriously wrong.

"You're being sued," He says quietly down the receiver.

"WHAT!?" I exclaim. "BY WHO!?"

"The parents of Rogan Murphy…"

My ears start to ring before I even hear the rest of sentence. If I hadn't been sitting down I probably would have ended up on the floor. My head spins as tears start to fall. I had tried everything I could to save that little. I had tried.

"Maya! Maya are you still with me!?"

Eli's voice breaks through the haze and I take a few shaky deaths to steady myself. This could not be happening. Crap.

"I'm still here," I whisper. "What grounds are they suing me under?"

"Malpractice. I've been called in as a witness," He replies back just as quietly. "But don't worry. They have no solid grounding to win a case against you."

"But you know it doesn't always come down to that," I whisper trying not to sound pathetic. "What jury is going to side with the doctor instead of the parents of the nine year old boy?"

"Maya it's going to be okay," Eli says but I don't believe him. His voice is too shaky and uncertain.

"I'll call you back soon," I say quietly. "I need to call a lawyer."

"Do you have one?"

"Yeah. Silvia Torres."

"You're bringing out the big guns," He whistles. "She's one of the best Defence Attorney's in LA."

"Leanne gave me her card," I whisper rubbing my head already feeling a stress headache coming on.

"Good, use it," He says. "I'll let you get on. You have much to do."

"Goodbye Eli."

With that he hangs up and it takes all I have not to break down. However it was useless. That kid… I had done all I could to save him. All I could to give him his best chance. But it wasn't enough. He died and now his parents hated me.

Good.

I hate myself for it too.


	67. Chapter 67: SOMETHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

**_Chapter 67:_** THERE'S SOMETHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

 ** _Rorish's POV_**

I sit at my desk quietly working through all my paper work and case files but I was distracted. Maya in over forty minutes. We knew she wasn't in surgery or it would be in the OR logs. We suspect she's in the Attending's Lounge or the Locker Room but we didn't want to go hunting. She needed her privacy. She had found herself in the middle of a massive quagmire and it was going to take an army to pull her out of it.

After another five minutes I give up and get up to go and find Maya. I don't have to go far as she walks into the ER just as I come out of my office. Her appearance hits me and I know instantly she was not okay. When I found Maya in New York she had the strong, I am a world class surgeon and know it look. Now she had the look of a scared resident who was out of her depth. Her eyes were swollen and red and her face was puffy. I wasn't even close to her and I could the tension rolling off her. I quickly close the distance.

"Maya are you okay?" I ask her softly.

She jumps when she sees me and I see that's she completely out of it. Her eyes glaze over almost instantly and she shifts her gaze from me. She gives a tiny shake of her head and that's when the tears start to fall.

"Let's go to my office," I say and she doesn't argue.

As soon as we get through the door it's like the flood gates have opened. Maya starts to shake uncontrollably and lets a small cry that quickly turns into proper sobbing. I pull her into a hug and she clings to me as if her life depended on it. I don't know what the hell happened during the case she's being sued over but it was obviously traumatising for her.

"Shush, you're okay," I whisper rubbing small circles on her back. "You're okay. Deep breaths."

She eventually calms down but by the time she does her breathing is raged and my fleece is soaked through at the shoulder. Maya's eyes are puffier than earlier and I can see that it's taking all she has to keep the tears at bay.

"Sorry," She chokes out wiping her eyes and I quickly grab her a tissue from my desk. "Thanks."

"It's okay. We all have moments of weakness," I say gesturing to a seat. "Here sit down."

"It's been a rough day," She whispers sitting down and I quickly follow her example.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I'm going to have to."

"What are you being sued over?"

"Malpractice," She mumbles weakly. "By the parents of Rogan Murphy."

"Who's Rogan Murphy?"

"A nine year old boy that died of Sickle Cell Disease," She whispers in a barely audible tone. She begins to shake again and I can see her desperately trying to hold in tears as her eyes glaze over again. What the hell happened during that case? "We misdiagnosed him with Lupus."

"Maya I don't quite understand," I say confused. "How do you fit into this? You're a trauma and transplant surgeon with a subspecialty in critical care. You are not a diagnostician."

"I was a consultant…" She says but she trails off as she shakes her head beginning to cry again. "It's better if I start from the beginning. Just tell you the full story."

"Okay, okay," I whisper realising that she was now rubbing her head. She was squinting at me and I knew instantly she was having the beginnings of a migraine. "I just need you to calm down and relax first. Do you have a headache?"

"A headache is an understatement," She whispers resting her elbow on the armrest of the chair so she could lean her head on her hand. "It's going to be a full blown migraine by the time the night is over. One of the bad ones not affected by medication from the feeling of it."

"You can tell?"

"Small migraines and tension headaches, I get a bit of nausea and exhaustion," She explains. "With a bad to severe migraine, ones I can only wait out, I have nausea, exhaustion, sensitivity to stimulus, sweating, hot flushes, poor concentration, dizziness and vision disturbance."

"And you think one of them is coming on!?" I exclaim and then instantly regret it when I see her wince from my voice. "Maybe you should go home and rest. Come back and tell me what's going on when you're better."

"If I don't tell you now I'll never have the guts to," She whispers shaking her head slowly.

"Okay okay," I say but I felt bad for her doing this. "Start from the beginning. What happened?"

"Well it was about eighteen months ago…"


	68. Chapter 68: MISDIAGNOSED

**_Chapter 68:_** MISDIAGNOSED

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Eighteen months ago_**

"Yo Blondie!"

I look up to see Eli walking over to me from the over side of the ER. I was exhausted, having reached the eighteen hour mark of my shift with no end in sight. We were in Code Red borderline Black and I knew it was going to be a while before we were in the clear.

"Yes Eli?" I say innocently, knowing exactly where this was going.

"You need to go lie down," He says. "You look ready to drop."

"I'll sleep when we are out of Code Red," I say rubbing my head and close the file I was holding. I also have patients. Speaking of, I have to get to them."

"Maya you need to look after yourself before you look after other people…"

Before he can finish my attention is grabbed by an incoming trauma. Three gurneys are wheeled in and I know instantly it's an RTA. A big one from the looks of it. The first patient is sitting up and with it, the second lying down but conscious, and the third… Unconscious and a little boy of about seven.

"Eli go with the first patient, the man," I say jumping into action. "Nate you go with the second. I'll take the child. Polly can you please page someone from peds please?"

"Yes mam," She says as I bring the final gurney into trauma two.

We work in a flurry, hooking the boy up to machines and drips. I hated working on children. That's why I hadn't gone into peds but I would have to deal with it. I quickly start to cut away clothes being careful not to disturb hidden injuries. I find a bruised stomach, raged breathing and several puncture wounds. I quickly start to do a gentle torso examination and am almost instantly confused. I find that his spleen is swollen as well as his kidneys.

That was not caused by these injuries.

I look up at the monitor and find that he has high blood pressure which a boy of this age should not have and that he had leg ulcers. Something was seriously wrong. This boy wasn't just suffering from crash injuries but maybe also a disease.

"We need to find all we can about this boy now!" I say sternly taking off my stethoscope from around my neck. "Talk to his father, mother, anybody. Also get me a diagnostician, neuro and ortho in here."

"What is it Doctor Cameron?"

"We might be dealing with something more than crash injuries," I say checking his chest and I inwardly groan. "We have a Tension Pneumothorax. Get me a chest tube in here now!"

I was not getting home any time soon.

-CODE BLACK-

I walk into the conference room practically dead on my feet. I had just stabilised that little boy but now I was being brought in as a trauma consultant. During the initial consult and surgery I had found many odd things in the small boy. Things that could not have been caused by his injuries. I was here to tell them what symptoms where trauma related and not whatever disease was ravaging through his body.

"Doctor Cameron, glad you could join us," Doctor Morgan says as I sit down. "Is Rogan stable?"

"He is," I say adjusting my lab coat being unaccustomed to wearing it. "For how long though, I'm unsure. His blood pressure is high and stats uneven. His temp is way higher than I would like it to be and the swelling in his kidneys and spleen is causing severe problems. It's just a matter of time before he becomes unstable again."

"And what reason did you call us in?" Doctor McCracken says. "From the sounds of it, this boy seems like an average trauma."

"That's where you're wrong," I say. "May I use the whiteboard?"

"Of course."

I quickly get up and grab a whiteboard off the table. I draw a line down the middle of the board and split it into two sections. Trauma and Disease.

"Right so in trauma we have a broken arm… severe head injury… pneumothorax… fractured ribs… damaged pancreas… mass internal bleeding," I say writing while I go. "However there are other symptoms that can't be explained by this. Hypertension… Ulcers on the lower legs… High fever… Swelling in the kidneys and spleen… Delayed growth… Anaemia…"

"Is Hypertension not explained by his injuries?"

"No," I say bluntly. "Hypertension in trauma victims is caused by damage to the adrenals and kidneys. In the accident no damage was done to either of these organs. Other causes of Hypertension aren't applicable either. He's in the normal weight range, maybe slightly below, for it to be exercise. Too young for age. Can't be stress or alcohol. His parents are perfectly healthy so it can't be genetic. It's being caused by something that we can't see."

"Any ideas?"

"I don't know," I say. "That's why I called you guys in. I mean those symptoms can mean anything from Lupus to Norovirus to Malaria to Meningitis to Hepatitis."

"We were thinking Meningitis or Lupus," Doctor Morgan says. "We're going to run some tests to figure out which one it is. We would like to keep you on standby in case there are any trauma implications."

"Well for starters I don't think its Meningitis. If it was I'd be screwed and in the Adult's Ward right now fighting for my life," I say and I get a raised eyebrow. "I'm more susceptible to things like Meningitis and Pneumonia due to the fact I have Asplenia. Only twenty per cent of my spleen is functional. If he had Meningitis I would be sick by now. I was exposed to his blood for over four hours."

"Okay we know one thing its not then," He says. "Just one question. How on earth are you a doctor with an immunodeficiency? Is it even safe for you to be on this case?"

"It's never stopped me from doing my job before," I say bluntly. "As doctors we expose ourselves to dangerous materials all the time, infectious diseases, toxins, AIDs… It's part of the job."

Before he can respond my pager goes off. I quickly pull it out of my pocket and restrain from screaming when I read it.

 _CODE BLUE_

 _ROGAN MURPHY_

 _PICU_

"It's Rogan," I say putting the pager back in my pocket. "I have to go."

I quickly leave the room before they can respond.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Four hours later_**

"So I just had to remove Rogan's spleen as it has grew large enough to destroy platelets and red blood cells," I say collapsing into a seat at the conference room table. I was still in my surgical gown but I could not be bothered with removing it. I was too tired. "We need to figure out what's wrong fast or he will either get a disease his body can't fight, an infection or kidney failure. Due to whatever this disease is and his injuries, his immune system is incredibly weak. It will be a matter of hours before one of those three events happen. We do not have time."

"Well we're now thinking Lupus," Doctor Morgan says. "We ran some tests and he shows markers for it. "

"Well we need to start treatment now! If it's Lupus and one of those events happen he will die!"

"But if it's not Lupus and we give him immunosupressants we destroy his immune system and those events are inevitable," He points out.

"We're in an impossible situation, aren't we?"

"If we make the wrong decision we'll kill him," Doctor McCracken says solemnly.

"Have you spoken to his parents?" I ask closing my eyes and letting out a sigh.

"Not yet," Doctor Morgan replies. "We were waiting on you."

"Great," I mutter standing up. "Go on. Let's get on with it."

-CODE BLACK-

I follow Doctor Morgan into Mrs Murphy's room. Mrs Murphy was being held overnight to observe her head injury while Mr Murphy was free and clear. Thankfully they were both together and I see that they've gotten Mr Murphy new clothes as he was wearing a hospital tracksuit. They looked terrified.

Of course they were terrified. Their son was in critical condition.

"How is he?" Mr Murphy asks desperately.

"He's stable," I say. "The surgery went well and thankfully his spleen didn't do too much damage so I was able to fix it. It's going to be a long road. Having no spleen has many complications. He'll be more susceptible to certain diseases and infections. But at the minute that's the least of his problems. As you both are aware I am here as a trauma and surgical prospective. Doctor Morgan has come up with a possible cause for Rogan's symptoms. I know it's been a long journey and search for you but I need you to listen to Doctor Morgan. This may not be easy to hear."

"What is it Doctor Cameron?"

"I think that your son has something called Lupus," Doctor Morgan says seriously. "Lupus is where the body confuses healthy cells with diseased ones and attacks them. It is an autoimmune disease and it causes your immune system to be incredibly weak and therefore the body susceptible to infection. Rogan shows markers for the disease and the majority of the symptoms fit."

"Well how do we treat it?" Mrs Murphy says weakly shifting in her bed.

"That's the thing," Doctor Morgan says and I knew this was where it was going to get interesting. "If this is Lupus we believe Rogan is currently in a flare-up. To treat this we usually use immunosupressants to limit healthy cell damage."

"You said if he has Lupus," Mr Murphy points out. "Are you not certain?"

"That's the thing," Morgan continues. "Rogan shows some flags to Lupus but not all. If we are wrong about this and we give him the treatment we will do more damage."

"What that's supposed to mean?" Mrs Murphy asks fear lacing her voice.

"In Rogan's current condition, his immune system is incredibly weak," I say. "It will only be matter of time, hours even, before he gets a disease his body can't fight, an infection or has kidney failure. If we give him immunosuppressants, which are the treatment for Lupus, and it's not Lupus we destroy his immune system and those events are inevitable."

"So are you saying if you are wrong, he will die?"

"Yes," Morgan replies when I can't get the words out. "What we came here for is to ask do you want us to go ahead with immunosuppressants?"

"What if we don't give him the treatment?" Mrs Murphy asks.

"He dies," I say quietly.

"Is there any other way of being sure?"

"No ma'am."

"Give him the treatment," Mr Murphy whispers after a short pause and look at his wife.

"We've fought this for too long," Mrs Murphy agrees. "Do it."

"Okay," Doctor Morgan says. "We'll let you know if his condition improves."

"Thank you doctors," Mr Murphy say quietly.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Eight hours later_**

"His condition is deteriorating!" Doctor McCracken says bursting into the room causing me to jump slightly.

I was in the conference room practically asleep on the table. I had lost count of how many hours I had been here and was exhausted. But I couldn't leave. Not while Rogan was in critical condition.

"We were wrong about Lupus, weren't we?" I say straightening up and rubbing my eyes.

"It's too early to tell."

"I think we need to at least re-assess the situation," I say standing up and walking over to the whiteboard. "Maybe we missed something the first time around."

"But we've tested for everything that his symptoms fit…"

"Then test him again," I say surprised by the firmness in my voice.

"You want us to put that boy through more needless pain?"

"I'm not saying retake the spinal tap but retake the bloods at least."

"And what good would that do?"

"There's a chance that they were false positives or negatives," I say and then pause thinking. Did we do those tests first time…? "If you haven't done them already add a chest x-ray and bone marrow testing to that. Start with the x-ray."

"What are you thinking?" Doctor McCracken asks as I wipe the whiteboard.

"I don't know," I say distantly. "I just feel like we're missing something."

"I'll page you if something comes up," He says leaving the room.

I sigh rubbing my forehead the pounding pain now reaching a peak. It wasn't a migraine but it was damn close. I was now almost certain that this was not Lupus but we couldn't stop the treatment until we were certain. If it was Lupus and we stopped the treatment it would go from bad to worse. However Ali's voice rings through my head.

 _It's never Lupus_.

I quickly split the whiteboard in two again with trauma and disease. I write the symptoms out again. For trauma there was a broken arm, severe head injury, pneumothorax, fractured ribs, a damaged pancreas and mass internal bleeding. The disease was causing hypertension, ulcers on the lower legs, high fever, swelling in the kidneys and spleen, anaemia, and delayed growth.

With it split down it still looked like Lupus but I felt like I was missing something. I sit down and stare at the whiteboard but get nothing. Maybe an injury was masking an actual problem but where…? A number of those injuries could do that.

I sit there for at least an hour rearranging and trying to make sense of the symptoms but I can't. I can't figure out what's wrong. I stand up and start to pace just as Doctor McCracken walks in carrying the X-Rays. He quickly hands them to me and I pin them up. He gives me a concerned look as I rub my eyes and start to pace again.

"How long have you been here?" He asks. "You look exhausted."

"That's a good question…" I chuckle taking a slight pause to think. "Gosh, I must be reaching nearly thirty-six, thirty-seven hours."

"I've heard of long shifts before but that's hard-core," He says honestly.

"Surprisingly I pulled longer on occasion at my time at Angel's," I smirk. "This however feels more draining. I must be getting old."

"Awk come on! You're only like twenty-seven!" He exclaims. "You're not old!"

"Twenty-nine actually," I chuckle. "But I suppose next to you I'm still a baby."

"Oh low blow," He says feigning injury. "I have you know I'm only forty-four."

"Still old to me," I smirk.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," McCracken says rolling his eyes. "I'm away to go get some coffee. Do you want some? You look like you need it."

"Yeah please."

I watch as he leaves and turn to the whiteboard again. My head was spinning. Why couldn't I figure this out…? It was like a puzzle with a missing piece. I just needed to figure out what that piece was.

"What's wrong with you Rogan?" I whisper. "What's wrong…?"

I lose it then. My anger and frustration swells and I throw a chair flying across the room with a yell in annoyance. I don't lose it often but this case… This bloody case. Something was wrong. Something was wrong and I couldn't bloody figure it out.

Take a few shaking breaths as tears threaten to fall and turn to the X-Rays. I study them closely. I study them to the minute detail and I instantly notice something off. Those spots shouldn't be there. The Pneumothorax and fractured ribs affected the left side…

Were the breathing issues…?

Fever, chest pain, breathing difficulties and Hypoxemia meant Acute Chest Syndrome. Link that with Aneamia…

It's Sickle-Cell Disease.

The patient has sickle cell disease!

Before I can respond my pager goes nuts. I read it and find it's a code blue for Rogan. Crap. Please don't let me be too late. If this kid dies… Maya he won't die.

I practically sprint from one end of the hospital to the other ignoring all the elevators knowing running would be faster. Years of cross country and athletics did add up to something. I make it just under two minutes later and find Rogan in respiratory and cardiac distress. Doctor Morgan looks up as I burst in.

"STOP THE IMMUNOSUPRESSANTS NOW!" I say over the wail of machines.

"Maya what is it?" He says desperately as I take over the CPR.

"It's Sickle Cell Disease!" I say as I desperately try to get his heart to start again. "We misdiagnosed!"

I jump off the gurney as McCracken charges the paddles. He shocks Rogan but nothing happens.

We fight for him. We fight for him for a good twenty minutes but after the fifth round of defib and CPR I knew we were not going to win. I didn't want to stop though. This was my fault. I was the one who said that the breathing issues were trauma related. It was my fault we misdiagnosed.

I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Maya stop," Morgan whispers and I comply knowing it was no use.

I don't hear the time of death but I knew it was declared. I walk out of the room before everyone else and instantly see Rogan's parents. I'm followed by Morgan as I walk over putting my stethoscope in my left hand.

Rogan Murphy was dead and it was my fault.

It was all my fault.


	69. Chapter 69: MIGRAINE

**_Chapter 69:_** MIGRAINE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Present Day_**

"Telling those parents their little boy was dead was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," I whisper as the shock slowly fades from Leanne's face. "After that I fell into a depressive bout so bad I ended up taking four months on sabbatical."

"Awk Maya," Leanne whispers but I don't get to respond as a wave of nausea hits me so hard I think I might pass out. I close my eyes and desperately try to push it back. "Maya you okay? Do you feel nauseous?"

I give a weak nod but the movement just intensifies the feeling of being ready to throw up. I keep my mouth firmly shut as the gagging starts and I'm glad Doctor Rorish gets her bin under my chin before I lose control. By the time I've finished the pain in my head is worse and I'm shaking violently. I cling to the bin weakly too afraid to let it go in case I start throwing up again.

"Maya you need to go home," Leanne whispers in a volume so quiet you wouldn't hear it from a metre away. "Can you stand?"

"I don't know," I mumble and the words cause another round of gagging.

This has got to be the worst migraine I've had so far. Normally it would take a couple of hours to get this bad but I only got the first symptoms about forty minutes ago. This was going to be fun.

"Come on time to get up," She whispers once I stop gagging. "I'll drive you home."

With a lot of effort Leanne gets me onto my feet and I have to lean heavily on her to stay upright. She struggles only slightly due to the height difference and gets me out of the door relatively quickly but we don't get very far due a nurse stopping us. Leanne releases me and I lean against a nearby wall. I was so tired.

"Doctor Cameron there's a Damien Hardy at reception looking for you," Rory says her voice going straight through me.

"What's my fiancé doing here?" I mumble struggling confused to stay awake. "He should be in New York. He hasn't found a new fire fighting job yet."

"Mr Hardy said he came straight here after he had heard about the Murphy case," She says and this time the nausea isn't due to the migraine. "He said that you would know what that means."

"I'll take you to the locker room so you can get your stuff and have him meet you there, okay?" Leanne whispers. She was the only in here that was being quiet. The buzz of the ER was slowly killing me and don't even get me started on the lights.

I nod but before we can get anywhere a tall man comes up to us. He had grey hair and brown eyes and was dressed scruffily.

"Which one of you is Doctor Cameron?" He says in an Aussie accent pulling out a brown envelope.

"That would be me," I say hauling myself off the wall in a tone stronger than I thought I was capable of. "What is it you require Mister…?"

"You've been served," He says handing me the envelope. I swallow heavily pushing back the nausea. As soon as I take the envelop he takes a picture of me holding it before I could react and leaves.

"I know that was coming," I mumble pinching my nose in a desperate attempt to get some relief. The pain was slowly getting worse and I was surprised I was still standing.

"You okay?" Leanne asks softly as Rory disappears due to her getting grabbed by Willis who gives me a sympathetic look.

"I am far from okay," I say attempting to push the dizziness back.

"Let's get you to the locker room," She says slipping an arm around my side to keep me upright obviously seeing me swaying.

It's not long before I'm sitting on the bench in the locker room with my head between my knees. I'm almost asleep when I feel a presence beside me. A hand appears on my neck and massages just below my hairline. I let out a relieved moan as I realise who it is and lean my body almost fully against them. _Damien_.

"Damien?" I moan quietly.

"Hey bright eyes," He whispers applying more pressure causing me to let out a whimper. "Let's get you home. Doctor Rorish gave me your address. _Our address._ I have SatNav and the keys to your car. I'll take you home."

"I don't think I can walk to the car," I mumble turning my head slowly which only causes excruciating pain to go through my skull. I let out a small sob and Damien pulls me closer. "It hurts."

"I know darlin'," He whispers sitting me up gently. "You don't have to walk. I'll carry you."

And that's what he does. After putting his duffel bag and my backpack on his back he lifts me slowly and carries me with such gentleness I barely notice we were moving. He buckles me into the front seat with the same gentleness and it's not long before I'm sitting on my bed in the apartment. He quickly closes all the curtains, plunging us into darkness, causing me to sigh slightly in relief. I had no idea what time it was but it was daylight at least. He kneels in front of me taking hold of my face.

"I'm going to get you some meds to help ease your symptoms while you get changed," Damien whispers leaning his forehead against mine. I sigh at the coolness of forehead against mine. "Gosh you're boiling."

"Get an ice pack, Tylenol and Sumatriptan," I whisper and he nods getting up.

I slowly stand up on shaky legs and pull shorts and a vest top out of the chest of drawers. It takes me a while to get out of my scrubs and into the change and by the time I do Damien is back with the items I asked for as well as a bucket with some warm water in the bottom in case I'm sick again. I lie down under the covers bringing my knees to my chest with the ice pack on my head once I take the meds.

"Get some rest," Damien whispers rubbing the back of my neck. He knew that was the place that calmed me down when I was like this.

"Stay with me," I whimper as tears start to fall. The pain had only gotten worse and I could see no end in sight. I let myself be weak and start to cry in earnest which only makes it worse which in turn makes me cry harder. "It's hurts. It's never hurt this much before."

"I know babe," He whispers as he kicks off his shoes and gets in the bed beside me. I nuzzle into his chest and try to calm down as I begin to shiver. His arms loop around me in a strong embrace. I felt safe. "I'm not going to let go until you fall asleep."

He starts to massage my neck again and I feel myself start to relax.

"Keep talking," I mumble as my eyes drift closed. "You're voice helps."

"What about I sing?" He whispers and I smile at that as memories of the last time he sang to me flood back. I had gotten Pneumonia after a particularly bad case. It wasn't as severe as when I was at Angel's but it was still bad. It had made me calm when I was terrified.

"Please."

"Two AM and she calls me because I'm still awake. Can you help me unravel my latest mistake? I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season…" Damien sings in his baritone voice and I relax further into his arms. That was one of my favourite songs. "Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes. Like they have any right all to criticise. Hypocrites, you're all here for the very same reason…"

I'm asleep in minutes.


	70. Chapter 70: INTERVIEW

**_Chapter 70:_** INTERVIEW

 ** _Damien's POV_**

It takes Maya four hours to fall into a peaceful sleep and even then I can see her wincing and flinching every so often. She wakes up five times to throw up and each time she just looks weaker. The last time I saw her this bad was after the shooting in New York.

Gosh I never wanted that to happen again.

When Maya moves slightly out of my arms and onto her back I know she's definitely sound asleep. She finally looked peaceful and I was glad she was finally getting some relief. Gosh I hated seeing her in pain.

I slowly remove my arms from around her waist and roll off the bed. I glance at the clock to see its 11AM and know Maya wouldn't be up for at least another few hours. I move around the room in the almost pitch darkness and tidy up. I grab the dark grey scrub pants, dark grey Angel's Memorial long sleeve fleece and long sleeve purple sports top Maya had come home in off the floor and quietly put her trainers away. I also grab the laundry basket knowing today was laundry day if she still carried on with the same routine as New York.

As soon as I'm done with the laundry I call Angel's to say Maya would most likely not be in for her next shift. It was Doctor Rorish that answered and she had every sympathy for Maya. I was glad she had a friend like that. I continue with my tidy up till about noon and then get a shower and change. I was in desperate need of one after the flight from New York to here.

It also didn't help I had a job interview tomorrow for a place in Rescue Squad in Bunker Hill. I was nervous but I knew I would get at least one position in a station. I was beyond qualified for it. I was a fully qualified EMT, had a Bachelor's degree in Fire Science/Fire fighting from New Jersey City University and extra training from the Fire Academy. My time in the Marines also meant I had advanced training in things like rescue missions, large fires, explosion handling, terrorist attacks and so on.

All stations wanted people they don't have to train. Something I did not need to do more of at this moment in time. I had qualities any station wanted and I wasn't afraid to show it.

After the shower I help Maya by writing out all the numbers of the people she needed to call when she woke up including the number for that Lawyer I found in her scrubs and then do a food shop knowing rightly her cupboards were not stocked. The next couple of weeks would be insane with the court case.

After all that I'm brought up to 14:00 and I knew after that all I could do was wait till Maya woke up. There was nothing I could do for her now but be there for her. This court case, however how much I wanted it to, was not going away and I just hope she could beat it. If she didn't we'd have a repeat of that depressive bout and I couldn't bear to see her like that again.

She had to win. Gosh I hope she won.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Two hours later_**

I come round slowly to a dark room and no Damien. I was on my stomach obviously having moved from the tight ball I'm almost certain I fell asleep in. The migraine pain had almost ebbed away with there now only being a dull throb and a bit of dizziness. I roll over and slowly get up moaning as I realise how tired I was. I didn't know how long I have been out but I felt exhausted. I was aching all over and I knew I had finally reached the Postdrome phase.

Gosh I felt like I was hungover.

I stand up on shaky legs and slowly walk over to the chest of drawers and pull out a pair of leggings and hoodie. I quickly change out of my shorts and into the leggings and pull the hoodie on while I walk out of the bedroom. I keep the hood up and as I walk down the stairs to the living area of the loft.

I find Damien on the sofa immediately. He's filling out case files and accident report forms and I smile at how adorable he looks. His hair is the usual mess and he had his glasses on. He only wore glasses for reading but he looked hot in them regardless.

"Hey," He smiles softly putting the file he had been working on. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm hungover," I whisper walking over to him slowly. "The migraine may be gone but I still have a bit of a headache and I hurt all over. It would also be nice if I didn't feel so exhausted."

"Come here," He whispers and I quietly go and sit next to him.

He rubs my back in slow but firm circles. I let out a sigh as some of the muscle tension goes and I'm almost certain not all of it is from the migraine. He keeps the pressure up and I lean further into him placing my head on his shoulder.

"Gosh you're tense," He whispers but the only response he gets from me is garbled speech as he releases a particularly bad knot. "Rough couple of weeks, I take it?"

"You could say that," I mumble as my eyes drift shut. "I've been working longer and longer shifts and in the past week alone we've had three code blacks… Gosh please don't stop."

It takes a good fifteen minutes for him to release the tension from my back, shoulders and neck but by the time he does I'm practically jelly in his hands. He pulls me properly into his arms and I sigh at the closeness. I missed this.

"I missed you so much," I whisper.

"Likewise," He smiles. "But hopefully we won't be separated for much longer."

"What are you talking about?" I say turning to face him confused.

"I have an interview tomorrow for Bunker Hill's Rescue Squad," He grins.

"What!? Damien that's amazing!" I say spinning around to face him.

"I was going to tell you but the whole court case kicked off," He says softly pushing my hair out of my face. "It's at ten."

I don't respond with words but instead kiss him hard. It wasn't long before I was straddling him and we were making out. Gosh I had missed him. I pull back slowly gasping for breath as he holds me closer. He leans his forehead against mine and I grin, glad to be close to him again.

"I missed you too," He smiles and I let out a soft chuckle.

"As much as I would like this to continue I have phone calls to make," I whisper pulling away and standing up.

"Don't push yourself too hard," He says quietly standing up. "Take some Brufen and make yourself some tea and toast. Your migraine may be gone but it can come back if you push yourself too hard. You found that out the hard way the last time you had one."

"I know," I whisper and then move slightly closer to him and stand on tiptoes so I can whisper in his ear. "And then maybe once I'm done we could pick up where we left off…"

"Oh I like your thinking Doctor Cameron," He smirks grabbing me by the waist.

Damien presses his lips gently to mine and it takes all I have not to carry on. I slowly pull away and go straight to the kitchen. I make tea and toast quickly and then head to my desk in the corner of the living area.

It was time to get to work.


	71. Chapter 71: TIRED

**_Chapter 71:_** TIRED

 ** _Damien's POV_**

"I know its short notice but I need those files Lisa."

I watch as Maya paces up and down in front of me pinching her nose. I could tell her migraine was starting to make a reappearance and I wasn't surprised. She had been on the phone for fifteen minutes and it was going nowhere.

"Doctor patient confidentially!?" She exclaims. "Really Lisa you're pulling that one!? I was the doctor on that case!"

I could see her getting agitated and I knew this was not going to be good.

"I am being sued! I need those files for my attorney. How am I supposed to get a defence if they don't know the case inside out?"

There's a pause.

"Look I know this isn't your fault and this is an impossible situation but I'm not the only one that will get ruined by this if I lose. Two of your best paediatricians will be dragged into it too. Once they are done with me they will go after Michael and Stephen. They are liable in this too," Maya says bluntly. "And there's also you. If I lose this case you'll get hit too. You are after all my old boss and the person who nominated me for an award."

Was Maya really doing what I think she was doing?

"I'm emotionally blackmailing you!? Lisa you're hardly being civil to me are you?" She says and I could hear her anger. "I worked for you for eight years. My aunt worked for you for six. And you're just hanging me out to dry."

There's a longer pause this time and I see Maya take a slow sigh of relief.

"Thank you. I'll be in touch when I get back to New York for the trail."

With that she hangs up and I instantly see her shrink down into herself. She looked on the verge of tears and was shaking slightly and I quickly stand up pulling her into a hug. She starts to cry then and it breaks my heart. She buries her head into my chest, the top of it barely reaching my shoulder.

"I didn't want to use that against her," She whispers in a barely audible volume. The sob that follows is even more heart-breaking than when she started crying.

"I know," I whisper into her hair and she clings to me tighter. "Shush, you're okay. It's going to be okay."

Maya eventually relaxes into me and loosens her grip slightly. I could feel the exhaustion rolling off her and I knew she was going to have to go to bed soon before she collapses. Her migraine may be gone but she still has the after affects. I slowly bring her out of the embrace and lift her head gently to face me. Her blue eyes look at me tiredly and were bloodshot from crying. Under her eyes was practically black with exhaustion.

"I love you," I whisper. "And I know you feel guilty and I know you feel helpless but you tried your best to save that patient. There was nothing else you could have done and if the jury doesn't see that they are idiots."

Before she can reply her phone starts buzzing from her hoodie pocket. Tears were still falling but she wasn't sobbing anymore. Maya's expression darkens when she pulls out her phone and sees the caller ID. She quickly answers the call frowning.

"Hello?" She says trying to hide the tiredness from her voice. "No, no I'll come in… It's okay I understand… See you soon Leanne… Bye…"

"You have to go in don't you?" I ask quietly pushing the hair from her face.

"Yeah. There's been a huge pileup," She says pulling away and returning her phone to her pocket. "They need me in as they need all the trauma surgeons they can get."

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"If I can't I'll come home or get some sleep in an on call room," She says rubbing her eyes. "I'm away to get a shower and get ready. I'll not likely be home before your interview so good luck. Not that you need it."

"Why don't I need luck?" I smirk playfully.

She responds with a searing kiss that takes me a back. I didn't see it coming and it takes all I have not to pin her against the wall and bring this further on. She pulls back breathing heavily and grinning.

"Because you are the best fireman I've ever met and I've met quite a lot working in ERs," She says surely our faces still close. "You are the catch of all firemen. You will smash the interview."

"Thank you," I smile back softly.

With that she heads upstairs to get a shower leaving me realising how lucky I was to have her.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Rorish's POV_**

"Jesse help me pin him down! I need ten milligrams of Diazepam!"

I can see Maya in the corner of my eyes quickly inject a patient who was in some form of drug psychosis. He was one of the causes of the accident and I could see her struggling to keep treating him. This was not going to be an easy night for anyone and Maya had walked in looking exhausted before the chaos had even fully started. I knew instantly what was going on. She was still in the Postdrome phase of her migraine.

"Right we need to get this guy up to the OR now!" I say over the noise around me. "Tell Doctor Pinkney that the patient has a skull fracture, mass internal bleeding and ruptured spleen. Possible lung injuries as well."

The gurney is wheeled away quickly and I knew it wasn't going to be the last. I'd gotten in about an hour ago shortly before Maya and Willis and I have spent ten minutes of that without a patient. Before I can get to the next patient in TSI2 I'm grabbed by a nurse looking flustered.

"More coming in," She says. "We've been advised to prep for hypothermia and impact injuries."

"Hypothermia!?" I question.

"They were retrieved from the water."

"Send him up to the ICU and monitor him!" I hear Maya exclaim behind me. "Test his system for drugs and his blood alcohol level. His internal bleeding should fix itself but if his vitals change page me immediately. Also page me when his test results come in."

"Yes Doctor Cameron."

"Maya! You have a speciality in Intensive Care Medicine right?" I call behind me before she can get away.

"Yeah, why?" She asks confused.

"We're going to need it in a minute!" I say just as the first patient is brought in. "Maya take this first one!"

It was going to be a long night.

-CODE BLACK-

It was a long night. I had been called in around 7PM and it was now 9AM the next morning. I was beyond exhausted and was glad to be out of Code Black. It was time to go home. To go to bed.

Well once I found Maya.

She had disappeared about twenty minutes ago since Campbell had said she wasn't needed at that moment in time. Judging by how tired she had looked earlier she had probably found an on call room to lie down. She was probably still recovering from that migraine and the amount of work she just had to do had most likely halted that recovery.

I find her on the surgical floor in on call two curled up in a ball in the bottom bunk. She was sound asleep with her pager placed next to her head in case she was called in again. Even in sleep she looked exhausted.

"Maya?" I say softly causing her to stir. She sits up slowly rubbing her eyes,

"I'm awake," She mumbles sleepily as she pulls her legs over the side of the bed. "Is one of my patients crashing? Do I need to go?"

"No, no. Stay where you are," I say sitting beside her. "All your patients are stable."

"Then what's up?" She says waking up more and stretching.

"I was just coming in to check on you," I say quietly. I had a headache and I knew if I did Maya most certainly had one too. "You've have a couple of rough days."

"To be quite honest since I got in I haven't had the chance to think about it," She smirks. "I have had four surgeries since I got here and when I wasn't in the OR I was in Centre Stage."

"Welcome back to Angel's Memorial," I grin causing her to chuckle. "How is it going on your end if I may ask?"

"Well I have a meeting with Silvia Torres at three PM today," She says her expressions darkening. "I pretty much had to emotionally blackmail my old boss to get my employee file and files from the Murphy case."

"Awk Maya," I whisper but her response is unexpected. She lets out an almost hysterical laugh and I raise an eyebrow. "Care to tell me what's so funny?"

"Of all the things I've had to survive over the past eight years…" She giggles trying to get a grip. "I've been shot, blown up, drugged, got pneumonia, did my boards in a blackout, had to bury my grandmother, did impossible surgeries, had to get through the worst code black in the history of hospitals in New York… And I'm stressed over a lawsuit."

"You were shot!?" I exclaim and she chuckles more.

"Another story for another time," She says rolling up her sleeve to show a nasty looking scar. "I was fine though."

"That does not look fine!"

"Trust me compared to others, I was fine," She says darkly before chuckling softly again. "Look at me… Laughing at shootings and bombings and city crises. New York really did a number on me and I know during that lawsuit all the crap that's happened is just going to get thrown in my face."

"You're going to win this case Maya," I say softly.

"That's still to be decided."

Before I can respond Maya's pager goes off and I can see her inwardly groan. She picks it up and her expression darkens and I knew she had to go.

"I have a code blue," She explains standing up. "I'll see you later. Have a good night or day or whatever time it is Leanne."

"You too Maya," I smile. "Call me if you need anything."

I watch as she runs out of the room and sigh. That girl was hiding something and despite her being the saving grace Angel's needed it was going to come back and bite her in the ass.

I just hoped she could survive it.


	72. Chapter 72: SUPPORT

**_Chapter 72:_** SUPPORT

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Two weeks later_**

"Just do as I've instructed and everything will be okay," Silvia says quietly. "And good. You listened to my clothing advice.

We were standing outside the courtroom and I was shaking slightly. Today I was being put on the stand and I did not feel ready. I had paid attention to Silvia's advice and changed my entire look. I had swapped out my usual edgy look to what I looked like eight years ago. I was dressed in beige jeans, sleeveless white blouse, checked v-neck cardigan, black tie and brown brogues. I was wearing my glasses instead of my contacts and my hair was in an half down half up braid. I now looked like a classroom assistant, a look way more appealing to a jury.

"Be honest," I say back at the same volume. "It wasn't my fault."

"Good," She smiles. "Stay calm. You've got this. We have Lisa Cuddy, Leanne Rorish and Eli Young as character witnesses. We will win this."

With that we walk in and take our places. I watch as the jury take their seats and then try to avoid eye contact as the Murphy's sit at their table. Every time they looked at me they had a look of disgust on their faces. A look I deserved.

"All rise for the honourable Judge Mackey!"

We stand up as the judge walks in and sits down. He tells us to be seated and I sit awkwardly. I was shaking slightly knowing that I was going to get hounded by the prosecution. Anything and everything as going to be thrown at me and despite being prepped for it I was still nervous.

"Calm down," Silvia says quietly making it look like she's leaning back in her chair.

I nod and take a sip of water. I watch as Leanne is called up to the stand and she gives me a reassuring smile as she was sworn in. I was scared. This could get ugly. I watch as the prosecution takes the stand.

"Hello Doctor Rorish," Ms. Grey says standing up and walking in front of their table. "Thank you for making it today. I know you're a long way from LA and I've heard how busy Angel's Memorial is on a good day. Thank you for your time."

"Of course," She smiles. "Anything I can do to help."

"So you're the Trauma Residency Director of Angel's Memorial, correct?" Ms. Grey asks politely.

"Yes."

"And how long have you been working at Angel's Memorial?"

"Twenty years. I moved there after completing my trauma residency and critical care specialisation at John Hopkins Medical Centre. I worked as a senior attending for ten years and then Trauma Residency director for three. For the next seven I was the ER head before going back to the Residency Director position," She replies honestly.

"Residency Director seems a bit of a step down after ER Head doesn't it? What happened?" Ms Grey points out and at that moment I knew this was going to get bad.

"In the past six months there have been a lot of changes in how Angel's Memorial works," Leanne replies honestly un-phased by the question. "On an administrative level it made sense for the OR and ER departments to combine. This meant that the role of the ER Head was made redundant as Doctor Will Campbell took up the head of both departments as a whole."

"And from what my sources tell me you weren't happy with this change. Why not?" Ms Grey asks and I can see the discomfort on Leanne's face.

"Objection!" Silvia says standing up. "Relevance! Doctor Rorish is here to show the character of my client not to be put on trail."

"Sustained!" Judge Mackey says.

"Okay so how long have you known Doctor Cameron here?" Ms Grey says obviously changing tactics.

"Eight years," Leanne smiles. "She started a trauma residency at Angel's staying for a year before transferring to New York for a surgical residency."

"And in that year she was the centre of quite a few controversial moments wasn't she?"

"I don't quite understand the question…" Leanne says confusion crossing her features but Silvia catches on immediately and writes something down.

 _What's she talking about?_

I quickly scribble a reply.

 _Gina Perello, Autumn Campbell, mountain bike operation, building collapse incident and Xolair incident. Maybe more._

"Where there instances in which Doctor Cameron acted in a way that was beyond her years or caused disturbance in Angel's Memorial?" Ms Grey pushes.

"Maya is a great doctor and she showed that from an early stage," She says surely. "She made many saves and catches that many doctors her age would have missed. Things such as chlorine burns, working in extreme circumstances that not even doctors at my level would cope with and working on patients by herself that third year residents would have difficulties dealing with. But like all doctors, Maya had losses."

"And was one of these losses the old head of the ER Doctor Gina Perello?" Ms Grey says and I stiffen. Silvia knew about Perello. She knew how much trouble that caused.

"That's correct."

"And how did Doctor Perello die Doctor Rorish?"

"There was a disgruntled patient called Gordon Heshman," Leanne says quietly. "He stabbed Gina in the locker room multiple times before going to the parking lot and attempting to rape a resident. Gina was found by a resident at the time, Christa Lorenson. Gina didn't make it past Centre Stage. Centre Stage is where we take critical patients to stabilise them so they can either be moved to ICU or taken to surgery."

"And how did Doctor Cameron fit into this incident?"

"When Christa found Gina she went into shock," Leanne explains and I wince at the words. "Maya heard Christa shouting for help and found her sitting next to Gina who had been stabbed multiple times. Maya jumped into action, putting pressure onto the wound, and got Christa to get help. She returned with Doctor Michael Leighton. Mike brought Gina to centre stage and Maya got security to look for Gordon Heshman after Gina telling her that another resident was in danger. In Centre Stage everything was done to try and stabilise but extreme measures had to be taken. Angel's has a reputation of going into Code Black. This is where we don't have enough resources to cope with an influx of patients. Due to the code black there wasn't an OR available. There were three people present that could do the procedure needed to help Gina, Doctor Neil Hudson, Doctor Michael Leighton and Maya. So they opened her up in the ER to try and stabilise. Their attempt failed and despite measures being taken to revive Gina, she died."

"Where you present at this incident?"

"No I wasn't. I was dealing with personal matters."

"And were the measures taken to save Doctor Perello's life in line with hospital policy?"

"They were not."

"Are you saying that Doctor Cameron here knowingly broke hospital rules?"

"She may have broken hospital rules but I would have taken the same route," Leanne says surely. "Rules in a code black tend to become blurred. She did what had to be done to give Gina a chance."

"But you are saying that Maya has a history of using unorthodox methods…"

"OBJECTION!" Silvia exclaims and I knew I was in trouble looking at the jury. Gina's death did not put any of us in a good light. "Leading the witness!"

"Sustained!" The judge says. "Ms. Grey, watch how you proceed!"

"That's all I have your honour," She smirks. "Thank you Doctor Rorish. Defence your witness."

Silvia gives me a reassuring look as she stands up. This was going to get interesting.

-CODE BLACK-

By some miracle Silvia manages to salvage our defence. She puts me in a good light and the testimonies made by Eli and Lisa backfire for Ms Grey. They both show my work in New York in a flattering way by some miracle and back my decisions during the Murphy case. After Eli was on the stand a recess was called and I was glad. I needed headache meds and coffee.

"You look terrible."

I look up from the bench I was sitting on haven't even making it to the vending machine to see Leanne who was offering me a cup of coffee. I take it gratefully and smile weakly. She sits beside me and watches at the people passing by. It was a New York courthouse. They tended to be busy.

"I look how I feel then?" I smirk taking a sip of coffee.

"I'm sorry if I ruined your case," She says softly.

"You didn't," I say rubbing my head. "You are probably one of a very few people that can make the events of my year in Angel's make me sound good. You did minimal damage which is more than what Mario or Christa or Heather could say."

"When did you get so smart?"

"I went through hell a couple of times," I say trying not to let my mind wander despite knowing it was useless. I knew as soon I got on that stand the stuff I was trying to avoid would be thrown straight back at me. "This is good coffee…"

"You're testimony is going to be fine Maya. You're a brilliant doctor. The jury has to see that," She says and then raises an eyebrow. "You think this brown sludge is good?"

"Well it's better than hospital coffee for starters and you obviously haven't tasted Damien's… Gosh I'm never letting that man near a coffee machine again," I smirk.

"How is your mysterious fiancé by the way?"

"He's still in LA. He couldn't get off work," I say and I could feel the smile spread across my face. Thinking of him always made me smile. "And he's not mysterious. You've met him before."

"Yeah while you were in a migraine haze so bad you could barely speak," She smirks and then starts to chuckle.

"Care to tell me what's so funny?" I say raising an eyebrow.

"I just realised something. You have a type," She chuckles.

"I do not!" I exclaim and then get confused "Wait what is my type?"

"Emergency services bad boys," She smirks and I open my mouth to object but am quickly cut off. "Give me one reason that's not true."

"Deeken wasn't in the emergency services when I was dating him," I say in a matter of fact way and then change my mind. "But thinking about it, Damien's background does make up for that with being an ex-marine and all."

"Damien really makes you happy doesn't he?" She smiles.

"As cheesy as it sounds he does," I smile. "He makes the darkness bearable. He's the light."

Before she can respond Silvia comes walking up to me and my heart drops. It was time to face the court. To go to battle.

A battle I wasn't sure I wanted to win.

But for now I just had to get up. I just had to say my piece. And hopefully it would be enough.


	73. Chapter 73: WE FIND THE DEFENDENT

**_Author's Note:_** Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long since the last update. Things got crazy with school and then uni and I just haven't had one second to upload. Here's the next ten chapters. I hope you enjoy!

 ** _Chapter 73:_** WE FIND THE DEFENDANT

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"Doctor Cameron it's good to finally have you on the stand," Ms Grey smirks at me and I instantly feel uneasy. "For the benefit of the jury, can you please tell us where you work and what your specialty is?"

"I work in Angel's Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles as both an emergency physician and trauma surgeon. I am the link between the ER and the OR," I say trying to keep my voice level. "As for my specialty I am a double board certified surgeon. I specialise in trauma surgery, transplant surgery and intensive care medicine."

"Are you good at what you do?"

"I am confident in my abilities," I say trying not to sound cocky. "I know my limits."

"And did you feel that the Murphy case was within your limits?"

"Yes."

"Now I want you to try and talk us through the Murphy case from start to finish. Can you do that?"

"Yes ma'am," I say straightening myself up a bit. I had to seem confident in what I was going to say. "It was a Saturday night so the ER was busy. We were borderline code black which meant that our resources were stretched thin. I was filling out a file when three gurneys were wheeled in. The first had a male who was conscious and sitting up, the second a female who was lying down but conscious and the third a male who looked about seven and was unconscious. I would later find that those three people were the Murphy family."

"And you were the one who took Rogan correct?"

"That is correct. I sent Doctor Young with Mr Murphy and Doctor Roland with Mrs Murphy," I say. "I knew that I was the most suited to treating a polytrauma due to my training. Doctor Young is an general and orthopaedic surgeon and Doctor Roland is a Neurosurgeon. From what I could see Mrs Murphy seemed to have a head wound when I saw her so he would be able to deal with that easily."

"So you divided the cases up into a logical manner. What happened next?"

"I brought Rogan into a trauma room to stabilise him," I say. "When we got there I removed excess clothing so I could get a look at his injuries. He had a bruised stomach, raged breathing, broken arm, head injury and several puncture wounds. However there were symptoms that didn't match up with the trauma from the car accident. He had High Blood Pressure, swelling in the Spleen and Kidneys, leg ulcers and fever. So I called in Paediatrics, Neuro and Orthopaedics. Before they could come he went into respiratory distress due to a pneumothorax. I stabilised it, intubated him and brought him up to an OR."

"And what is a Pneumothorax?"

"It's when air escapes the lungs into chest which in turn compresses the lungs and heart," I explain. "It was most likely caused by the crash and can lead to severe breathing difficulties."

"So how long were you in surgery with Rogan? What happened after that?"

"Four hours," I say. "I then went to the conference room for the differential as I had been called in as a trauma consultant. There was Doctor Morgan, Doctor McCracken, Doctor Montgomery and Doctor Tascioni. I went through the symptoms and injuries. Through this we ruled out Meningitis. Before we could go any further however Rogan had gone into crisis. I brought him back into the OR and had to remove his Spleen due to it have swollen so much that it had affected his platelet counts. Platelets are what the body uses to clot blood and make scabs. I went back to the differentiation. We knew that if we didn't figure out what was happening fast that he was going to get an infection or disease due to his low immune system or his kidneys would start to shut down."

"Isn't the Spleen an important organ? Doesn't removing it have detrimental effects?" Ms Grey pushes and I knew what she was doing. She was trying to make my decisions look wrong.

"Actually that's a common misconception," I explain. "The Spleen does have a function in the body but it can be taken over by other organs. It possible to have a normal life without a spleen. The affects can be controlled with antibiotics and vaccinations. I am a prime example of this. I have lived without a fully functional spleen since I was fifteen. I'm now thirty-one. The only issues I've had is being slightly anaemic and have a couple of viruses over the years."

"Fair enough," She says and I could see I've thrown her off guard. "Back to the case. It was in this differential you came to your first diagnosis, correct?"

"Correct. We initially thought that Rogan had something called Lupus. It's rare but it happens," I say. "Lupus is an autoimmune disease. It's basically where your body's immune system gets confused between good and bad cells and attacks healthy cells. Rogan's symptoms fitted but we knew if we were wrong the treatment would make him worse or kill him. However we also knew that if we didn't act soon Rogan would also die. So we went to Mrs and Mr Murphy and explained the situation. We told them that the treatment for Lupus was immunosupressants but we also explained that if we were wrong the treatment would do a lot of damage. We made the risks clear before the Murphy's agreed. So we started the treatment but eight hours later Rogan was still getting worse."

"And that's when you got the actual reason for the problem?"

"Yes ma'am," I say shifting slightly. "I got Doctor McCracken to run a bone marrow test and another chest x-ray. The bone marrow wasn't done before as it's painful and I wanted another look at the x-ray with the ribs reset. I found spots on the chest x-ray and realised the breathing issues weren't just trauma related. Fever, chest pain, breathing difficulties and Hypoxemia meant Acute Chest Syndrome. Link that with Anaemia, leg ulcers and delayed growth it fitted a disease called Sickle Cell Anaemia. I was about to go and tell the team but I got a page just as I figured it out saying that Rogan had gone into distress. We tried everything we could but it was too late."

"Are you saying that due to a mistake you made, you killed Rogan Murphy?" Ms Grey says thinking she had me.

"I'm saying that an honest mix up between a polytrauma symptom and disease symptom occurred. A mix up many other doctors would make," I say. "It was an unfortunate event that has happened many times before this and will happen many times more."

"You said that you originally thought that Rogan had Lupus how come?" She presses and I for once don't flinch at the question. Silvia had prepped me for this.

"May I use a metaphor?" I ask and get a confused nod from Ms Grey. "Say you had a sore throat, cough, headache and fever, what would you think you had?"

"A head cold," Ms Grey answers confused.

"Exactly. You wouldn't jump to the conclusion of a chest infection or Pneumonia as it doesn't make sense," I say. "Doctors do the same thing. Most of the time the simplest answer is the correct answer. We use science and statistics. Rogan fitted nearly all the characteristic criteria for Lupus. Lupus affects one point five million Americans and appears between the ages of fifteen and forty four. It accounted for the kidney, growth and skin issues and anaemia. He also had an uncle with the disease and it's twenty per cent more likely to have Lupus if a family member has it. Sickle Cell however didn't fit. It affects roughly one hundred thousand Americans and tends to affect African-Americans more. It tends to develop around age four with only twenty four per cent of cases starting at Rogan's age. Lupus made sense not Sickle Cell. Well not until the second round of tests came through."

I could see Leanne smirking in the viewing area and Silvia doing the same. I had just torn their case a part and from the look on Ms Grey's face they knew it.

"No more questions. Defence, your witness."

Ms Grey gives me a dirty look as she sits down and Silvia stands up giving me a comforting smile.

"Hello Doctor Cameron," She smiles.

"Miss Torres," I nod.

"I'm going to take a bit of a different approach if that's alright with you?" She says and I knew what she was doing. I nod and then say yes when the judge gives me a look. "What made you want to become a doctor?"

"My parents," I say trying to keep my voice calm.

"Where they doctors?"

"No, My aunt is though. My dad was a soldier and my mom a lawyer," I explain and then take a deep breath before continuing. "They died when I was fifteen in a car accident. I was in the car and barely survived. That's why my spleen had to get removed. I wanted to give people like my parents a chance of life. I wanted to help people."

"Has your spleen ever affected your work?"

"Twice. I've gotten Pneumonia twice but that's it," I say. "My asplenia actually helped us rule out Meningitis in the Murphy case. If it had been Meningitis I would have been sick too as a lack of a fully functional spleen leaves me more susceptible to diseases like Pneumonia, Sepsis and Meningitis."

"You've had quite the career haven't you Doctor Cameron?"

"You could say that," I say.

"You're the youngest to have been nominated for the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award correct? What was that for?"

"Correct. It's for my research into incision IVs and post-operation infection prevention," I say. "After the New York Grand Central attacks I wanted to figure out how to better help those who had been victims of terrorist attacks, fires and severe accidents. In incidents like that the deaths usually occur due to a physician not being able to get an IV line or the patient surviving the initial injury but then instead succumbing to an infection. My research was to see if I could help prevent these events from occurring."

"You've had your fair share of loses haven't you Doctor Cameron?"

"I have," I say. "It's part of the job."

"And Rogan was one of those loses correct?"

"Correct," I say solemnly hoping I don't start crying again. "Doctors lose patients. It's a sad truth but it happens. People live and people die and as a trauma surgeon that's something I have had to learn. It's awful and tragic when a patient dies and there are no words when one of those loses is a child. Losing someone hurts especially when it's sudden. I of all people should know that."

My voice breaks towards the end and I blink a couple of times to avoid crying. I avoid eye contact with the Murphy family and the jury.

"What is your success rate with patients Doctor Cameron?"

"I have a mortality rate ranging between one and twenty per cent depending on the situation but usually it doesn't go above nine per cent," I say and I can see the impressed look from Leanne.

"No more questions your honour," Silvia says and the judge nods.

I hope that was enough to save the case. Gosh I hope that was enough.

-CODE BLACK-

"Court rise for the honourable Judge Mackey!"

We all stand and I take a deep breath. The jury had taken four hours to come to a decision and I was absolutely terrified. The judge tells us to sit down and Silvia squeezes my shoulder to try and comfort me. I watch as a juror takes the page with the verdict and take a deep breath.

"In the court of New York City…"

You could have heard a pin drop.

"…we have found in favour of the defendant."

I start to breath shakily and I didn't even realise I had been holding my breath. I hear Eli letting out a whoop and feel Leanne squeeze my shoulder.

But all I felt was guilt.

I had won and all the Murphy's had was nothing. They had lost their son and now this.

And I would feel guilty for that for the rest of my life.


	74. Chapter 74: MY FAULT

**_Chapter 74:_** MY FAULT

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"Are you sure you can't stay for longer?" Eli says as I take a sip of coffee.

"I can't," I say sadly. "Leanne is already back in LA and there's a huge marathon happening in two days. They need all hands-on deck."

"A marathon happening at Halloween? That's a bit strange," He says as he pulls up to JFK airport.

"It's more of a fun relay thing. The distance is the same of a marathon though," I say. "It's going to be a mental few days as the race is on the thirtieth and then Halloween is only the day after."

"Why did you have to go to the hospital which spends so much time in code black it's normal again?" He chuckles.

"Because I needed some excitement in my life," I smirk back. Then my expression darkens. "I've missed you Eli."

"Me too, you blonde nutcase," He replies quietly. "I'll get to LA at some point to wreak havoc though."

"Oh, that sounds dodgy that does," I say raising an eyebrow.

"Well someone has to throw your hen party! I am one of your bridesmaids!"

"Oh, that definitely sounds dodgy!" I giggle. "Does Aunt Ali know about this?"

"Oh, she'll be in on it!"

"Now that sounds like it could go wrong," I say opening the car door as Eli switches off the car.

"Oh, that's the whole point. We're going to get you plastered first…"

"Is that so?" I smirk pulling my suitcase out of the trunk.

"Don't you know it," He grins. "It was good to see you again shorty."

"You too," I whisper giving him a hug.

"Stop feeling guilty about the case," He says pulling away. "You did all you could to save that boy. It was not your fault."

"If I ever believe that, it's going to take me a while," I say rubbing my head. "It just feels wrong having won when they lost their son."

"I know," He says sadly. "Just don't be too hard on yourself. The last thing you need is more stress."

"Tell me about it."

"Now go before you miss your flight!" He exclaims gripping me by the shoulders and turning me around to face the airport.

"Stay out of trouble Bone Breaker!" I chuckle as I start my walk to the airport.

"Likewise Organ Stealer!"

I chuckle as I walk away. Typical Eli.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Nine hours later_**

I pull up outside my apartment building and sigh. I was tired, stiff and most likely jetlagged. New York was three hours ahead of LA so even though my body felt like it was midnight it was only 9PM. I turn off the ignition and get out of the car. After getting my case and backpack, I lock it and head up to the top floor. Damien and I's apartment had a good view. It overlooked the beach on one side and the city on the other as it was at the very end of the hall.

"Smokey you home!?" I call through the apartment as I walk in after unlocking the door.

"I'm in the kitchen!"

I dump my stuff at the door, hang up my hoodie and coat and walk quickly into the kitchen to find Damien cooking with his back to me. He was dressed in a tight fitting t-shirt and shorts and his hair was damp. He mustn't be long in.

"Hey bright eyes," He smiles as I loop my arms around his waist and kiss up and down his back through the t-shirt softly.

"I won," I say quietly as he turns around so he could hug me properly. "I know I texted you but I needed to say it out loud."

"Stop feeling so guilty," He whispers. "That boy dying is not your fault."

"It's just going to take a while for me to believe that," I mumble.

"I've missed you," Damien whispers bringing my face into his hands so I could see him. And that's when I see his eyes.

He looks awful with dark circles being under his eyes and his expression sad. He holds me close and that confirms it. He gets clingy, overprotective almost when he's had a rough day at work or a bad day in general. After his time in the Marines he developed PTSD and insomnia from the stuff he had seen.

We were similar in that respect. Both haunted by our demons. We helped each other. We helped each other get better.

"I missed you too," I whisper but before I can ask what's wrong he kisses me hard and slow and I restrain from moaning. Crap. He eventually pulls back leaving me breathing heavily.

"You hungry?" He asks brushing my hair out of my face.

"A bit, yeah," I reply knowing he didn't want to talk right now. He would talk when he was ready and if he didn't I would push a bit. But for now, I would let him be clingy and overprotective because I knew that's what he needed.

He makes scrambled eggs and bacon and we eat in silence holding hands across the table. It had been a week since we had last seen each other due to the case. He had moved here permanently two weeks ago, and I was glad. I hated not seeing him every day. Once we were finished I get up and start to do the dishes, but I'm instantly distracted. I feel Damien's arms wrap around me from behind and his hands slide down my stomach. I gasp.

"Damien what are you doing?" I say quietly trying to concentrate on washing the plates.

"I missed you," He whispers huskily into my ear and I lose it then.

I spin in his arms and kiss him hard barely registering to turn off the tap first. It's not long before things get heated and we're making out. It's when my t-shirt comes off I realise that any idea of self-control was long gone, and this was definitely going to go further.

"Bedroom," I whimper trying to pull him closer.

"My sentiments exactly," He mumbles against my neck as I jump wrapping my legs around his waist.

He quickly carries me upstairs to the bedroom.

-CODE BLACK-

"I've missed that," I grin as my breathing slowly returns to normal.

"I second that," Damien chuckles rolling us over and pulling me unto his chest. I nuzzle into him quickly.

It felt good to be held by him again. Damien had a calming effect on me and after the past week I can feel the effect. I take a deep breath and smile as his smell fills my senses. Vanilla Raspberry, coffee and smoke. I always found it amusing when it came to him smelling like vanilla Raspberry. When he first met he smelt of coffee, Lynx Africa and smoke but the first time he had stayed at mine all I had in the way of shower gel was Original Source Raspberry and Vanilla. From that point every time he stayed at mine he used the Original Source shower gel despite the fact I bought him Lynx Africa. It took him five months to admit that he liked it and even when I started using Coconut shower gel he carried on using it.

He said that he may be a marine and as manly as they come, but he loved smelling like ice cream.

"I've missed you so much," He whispers after about a minute of silence.

"I've missed you too," I say shifting slightly so I could look at him. He gives me a tired look and I know I was going to have to push. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," He says trying to avoid the question.

"Damien," I say flatly. "What's wrong?"

"A house fire…" He begins but his voice trails off as he has to try and calm down. "There was a house fire and nobody survived… We couldn't… control the blaze. Two adults and three children…"

I realise instantly why Damien had been so distant. When he was sixteen his brother who was ten years older than him died in a house fire with his wife and three kids. It had broken him and as a result he had become a fire-fighter. He did his time for the Marines but under the surface he didn't want to let another family go through what he did.

That just happened.

"Awk Damien," I whisper shifting so I could cup his face.

"I… I couldn't help them," He says as he starts to cry. He turns away so I can't see him. "I… I…"

"Damien stop," I say cutting him off and gently pulling his face towards me. "Look at me and listen."

I stop talking and eventually Damien looks me in the eyes.

"I'm going to sound like such a hypocrite, but it is not your fault," I say surely. "You did everything you could. I know that you did. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because in all the time I've known you, you have never once given up. You gave them a chance and that's more than anyone else could say," I say quietly. "It was not your fault."

"Why do you give brilliant speeches that you don't believe in yourself?" He sniffles.

"It's a rare talent," I smirk and then stiffen when he brings up his hands and runs his fingers over the scars on my forearms.

Those came from a dark time and even him touching them felt weird. I was ashamed of how low I stooped back then, and he knew that.

"Damien…" I say awkwardly.

"You are beautiful and smart and kind. I do not deserve you," He whispers.

"No. I don't deserve you," I say pushing hair out of his face.

"Well face our demons," He whispers. "Together."

And in that moment, I believed his words. He may be haunted by fire and me by blood, but one thing never changed. We had each other.

And that was enough.


	75. Chapter 75: MARATHON

**_Chapter 75:_** MARATHON

 ** _Rorish's POV_**

"We are all dividing into three teams for this shift," I say to everyone. "Team one will be led by Doctor Willis and will be on the scene of the event. Team two will be led by Doctor Cameron and will be focused in Centre Stage and TSI2. Team will be led by Doctor Savetti and will be focused in TSI3 and the waiting room. This is to reduce the overload that we are almost certain will happen with this kind of event. If we go into Code Black during this shift it is unlikely that we will be out of it for at least forty-eight hours if we are lucky. This is all hands-on deck people! Any questions?"

Silence.

"Good. If anything does come up straight to me or Doctor Campbell. We will be overseeing the three teams," I say firmly. "Now get to work."

I watch as everyone disperses from the staff area. I hated this Halloween event. Especially how close it was to actual Halloween this year. The run had been going for three years now and the bedlam that it brought with it had only increased with each year. The idea was for the people to dress up and do an almost relay of it.

It never went to plan.

There were the people who did it normally but then there were the idiots that tried to run the entire thing in a stupid costume and overheat. There were the ones that tried to set new records and fail miserably. And of course the ones who did it drunk.

It also didn't help that this was the day before Halloween. Some people have already started their mad weekend long bender.

Tonight was going to go from madness to insane very quickly.

"Leanne how big is this race expected to be?" A voice says from behind me and I know it's Maya instantly.

She was just prepping herself on what to expect for this. She was going to be running the most chaotic area of the hospital. She had to be.

"It won't be as big as the annual marathon but I'd say there'd be near a thousand attending," I reply and her eye widen. "I hope you're well rested."

"Please! When am I ever well rested?" She snorts causing me to chuckle. "I never really got the chance after the court case but thank you for testifying."

"It's not a problem Maya," I smile. "I was just surprised you remembered my advice from eight years ago."

"You're a good teacher. Of course I remembered," She smiles but before I can respond both our pagers go nuts. "Time for the first wave…"

"First wave!?" I laugh as we leave. "Try torrential rain."

-CODE BLACK—

 ** _Six hours later_**

"We need to get this bleeding controlled before ortho gets down here!"

Maya's voice drifts from Centre Stage and I knew she was in it up to her neck. She was currently dealing with a fracture in a haemophiliac patient and from the sounds of it, it was not going well. However I knew something was up with Maya. She had received a phone call three hours ago which had brought her to tears. When I asked her what was wrong she had closed me off telling me she was fine.

"Doctor Rorish we're about to get hit hard," Rory says coming up beside me pulling me out of my thoughts and when I turn to face her I see the panic and fear in her face.

"Rory what's wrong?" I ask confused.

"The marathon has been attacked," She says quietly. "Mass shooting. Currently there are twenty critical, twenty major and ten minor injuries coming in. We are the closest major trauma centre to the incident. Some of the major and minor injuries are being redirected but we're being sent the critical and the majority of the majors."

"Has the gunman been caught?"

"One of them has," Rory says and my heart drops. "There are still two of them missing. We're expected to get more in before they are restrained."

"Right get Doctor Savetti from the waiting room and TSI3 and tell him that the residents can deal with them while he moves up to TS2 and centre stage," I say jumping into action mode. "Do you know where Campbell is?"

"In surgery."

"Notify him after you get to Savetti," I say but before I can say anything else the trauma doors burst open.

I push back the fear and disgust of what's currently happening and move towards the trauma doors wiping my eyes not knowing when I had started crying. The same thing has happened again. A shooting committed by some deranged maniac with a grudge. Soon the tweets, the words, the vigils, will begin. But they won't plug the holes or heal the wounds. They won't fix this society. In a few months the same thing will just happen again.

But for now. All I can do is try and minimise the damage already done

-CODE BLACK-

"Can you find the bleeder?" I say desperately as Maya flinches slightly when blood hits her square in the face.

"It's in the adrenals," She says and I have no clue how the heck she knows that as she's nowhere near the adrenals. "The speed of the blood loss and where I just got hit says it. I just need to get access to it. Scalpel. I need to extend the incision."

I watch as she takes the scalpel and makes quick work to get access to the Adrenals. It had been three hours since the shooting and patients were still coming in with no signs of stopping. The initial wave was over but now it was the people that had been injured in the panic that were coming in. I was in the OR with Maya, something that shouldn't be happening, for extra support as there was now a serious lack of surgeons.

"There's the bleeder," Maya says setting the scalpel aside. "Sutures please."

Before I can see her next move someone comes into the OR. I turn round to see Jesse looking flustered and his scrubs splattered in blood.

"We need you back downstairs Leanne," He says and I look up to Maya who was still working.

"Go," She says not taking her eyes off the sutures. "I've got it from here. I'll page if I need you."

"Okay," I say as she starts the sutures and with that I leave pulling off my overalls as I go.

"Now Leanne you have to promise not to hit me," Jesse says when we are out of earshot of the OR.

"Okay…" I say raising an eyebrow.

"You're not needed downstairs but I do need to talk to you," He says and I was ready to hit him.

"Jesse! Maya is up to her elbows in an attack victim right now!" I exclaim. "This better be important!"

"This is about Maya!" Jesse hisses and I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Someone has been calling excessively all night trying to get a hold of her."

"Shouldn't you be telling this to Maya?"

"The moment we tell her is the moment she loses it," Jesse says solemnly.

"How bad is this Jesse? Is this why she was crying at the start of the shift?"

"All I know is that someone from Maya's past is in critical care in Manhattan United Medical Centre and that we need to be careful in how we tell her due to an anniversary," He says. "Doctor Cuddy said they called her earlier but she had to rush off due to a page."

"How bad is critical?" I ask.

"If they make one wrong move this person will be dead," Jesse says. "They have TB and Meningitis. Contracted from a patient."

"Who is this person Jesse?"

"She saved Maya's life twice. Once after the car accident when she was fifteen and then after the accident when Maya made a suicide attempt," Jesse says quietly and my heart drops. I knew Maya had reached a low point after her accident but I didn't know she was that low. "She's also the mother of Maya's best friend during her surgical residency. A best friend that died due to a shooting in the hospital they both worked in. The anniversary is the thirty first of October. Tomorrow."

"That explains her distancing herself ever since we heard about the shooting," I whisper.

Maya had been distant ever since the first victim had come in. She had worked with precision, almost like a robot, and didn't even flinch when she pronounced a death. She had pronounced six people dead that I knew about and had kept going without showing weakness. She hasn't had a break longer than five minutes and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. But I could see the pain, horror, exhaustion and anger in her eyes.

I could see her hurting.

"I'll keep an eye on her and talk to her when I get the chance," I say after short silence.

Maya was breaking and I just desperately hope I got her before she broke down completely.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Six hours later_**

I lower myself into the seat slowly, my muscles aching and head pounding, and pull my knees to my chest. This was the first time I had been alone in nearly eighteen hours and had a proper sit down. I was hurting both emotionally and physically and I was glad I had found the Attending's Lounge empty. I was exhausted and desperately wanted to go home to my bed but I knew I would be here for a while. We were currently in Code Red but I knew it would only be a matter of time before we were back in Code Black.

I rest my head on my knees closing my eyes and barely notice the fact someone had sat beside me. Judging by their smell and the gentleness in which they sat, I'm presuming it's Leanne. I quickly make a move to get up but stop after feeling a hand pushing my shoulder down. I sit back down too tired to argue.

"We don't need you back yet," They whisper confirming that it was Leanne.

"Good," I mumble into my knees. "I'm exhausted."

"We know what's happening in New York right now," Leanne whispers and my heart drops. "And what happened in the last year of your residency."

I bite my lip and push back tears. I'd been pushing down my emotions all night and I was desperately hoping I could carry on doing so until I got home to Damien once this madness had ended. I couldn't break down. Not now.

"Why didn't you tell us? Today must have been damn near impossible for you," Leanne pushes and I barely hold in the tears.

"I didn't think it was relevant," I mumble sitting up more and it's then I realise how weak my voice sounds. "It's hard to talk about…I…"

My hand drifts to my left bicep and I know Leanne notices. Her eyes widen and that's when the tears start to fall. Memories of those awful twelve hours bombard me and I lose control. A sob escapes my lips and I lose it.

 _Crap._

"Maya shush…" Leanne whispers putting an arm around me. "It's okay your safe."

"Natalie was twenty seven," I choke out. "Exactly the same age as me. I… I…couldn't help her."

"Awk Maya."

"It was our last year. She was lined up to be a phenomenal gynaecologist and obstetrician. Hell. She was already phenomenal," I mumble.

"Maya…"

"She was my best friend," I ramble on cutting her off. My hands start to shake and my breathing becomes uneven. Crap. "She and Eli took me into their friend group. They… "

"MAYA STOP!" Leanne exclaims stopping me dead. "You're starting to hyperventilate. I need you to calm down your breathing. Understood?"

I nod and take a few deep breaths. I needed to tell someone this story. I had to talk to someone. Damien knew parts of it but not all and I had a very funny feeling tonight was going to get worse. If it did I was almost certain to end up with some form of panic attack.

"I have to talk to someone about this," I say after a minute or so. Tears were still falling but my breathing had normalised. "I need to tell someone what happened."

"Maya I am in no way forcing you to tell me what happened," Leanne says softly. "We all have our crap."

"I'm worried that if tonight gets worse, and with past experience I know it will, I will have a panic attack," I whisper. "I want you to my triggers in case I lose it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I say. "It was four years ago…"


	76. Chapter 76: INTO THE FIRE (PART ONE)

**_Author's Note:_** This part of the two part chapter was wrote to the song Into the Fire by Thirteen Senes. The second part of the two parter was written to Into the Fire by Erin McCarley.

 ** _Chapter 76:_** INTO THE FIRE (PART ONE)

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Four years ago_**

"You are all in the final year of surgical residency!" Cuddy grins from the front of the lecture hall. "This is a big year for all of you in this room and I will say this now. This will not be an easy year. You have your boards, complicated surgeries, still a heck of a lot to learn and, for the first time today, you will be getting assigned procedures as the lead surgeon. This is a big step and massive year to all of you! You can't afford to make mistakes now. This is your year to impress and make your mark. Now stop sitting around and go save lives! Dismissed!"

We all get up and make our way quickly out of the lecture hall. Today was a big day for me. I was the lead on a Colorectal Resection. It wasn't a big glamorous surgery but it was still my first lead surgery. Eli was doing a Hip Replacement and Natalie a Hysterectomy. We all had our first leads today. We were making big steps. We were growing up.

"When's your Colorectal Resection? What OR are you in?" Natalie says coming up behind me.

"In about forty-five minutes. OR four," I reply smirking. "When's your Hysterectomy?"

"In about an hour," She grins. "I mean I'm not happy I'm removing a woman's ovaries and womb but still. First lead surgery!"

"Yeah I get it. I mean I'm about to spend four hours elbow deep in someone's large intestine," I agree but then Natalie's face pales and I giggle. "Seriously!? You're training to become an OBGYN!"

"Yeah but that stuff still grosses me out!" She exclaims. "That's where all your poo and bodily fluids comes through!"

"It's a good thing you don't want to go into General," I smirk. "Now I have to go. I have to prep my patient."

"Bye Blondie!" Natalie yells from behind me as I dart off.

This is where my life begins. This was my first lead surgery.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Five hours later_**

I make my way quickly to the store after my surgery. I had completed post ops and was happy. The surgery had gone without a hitch and the patient was scheduled to make a full recovery. It had been good for a first lead. It had been good.

I walk swiftly round the corner and enter the corridor to the store. This area of the hospital was pretty much derelict on most days and was only really used for storage or when the hospital got overloaded with patients. The only reason I was down here was to restock on saline solution for Doctor Saunders. I may be going seriously down the General and Trauma route but I was still getting a well-rounded education. I had to spend an equal amount of time in all specialities and that included OBGYN and Peds.

I quickly open the door not really paying attention to wear I was going. I had made this equipment run hundreds of times. I didn't need to pay attention.

I hit the floor.

I don't why I'm there but I feel something wet and sticky cover my stomach and thighs. I also hear whimpering. Why do I hear whimpering…?

"Maya…"

I turn my head to my right and try not to panic. Beside me was Natalie deathly pale and lying in a pool of her own blood. A pool I was now lying partially in. I scramble up onto my knees slipping slightly and take a deep breath.

 _You are training to be a trauma surgeon. You survived a year in Angel's._

"Natalie can you hear me?" I say confidently trying to see where she was hurt.

"Maya… I was… shot…" She chokes out and my heart pounds. She was… "Shooter… still in… hospital."

"Okay… Okay…" I stutter out. "How long have you been here?"

"Five minutes…"

Natalie had a gunshot wound in her abdomen, in the middle and just below her ribcage. She was pale and sweaty and her breathing ragged. There must be some form of organ or vein damage. I quickly put on my stethoscope and check her pulse and breath sounds. Pulse irregular and fast which wasn't surprising. Breathing quick but strong.

I scan the room desperately for something anything that I could use to help her. My phone was in my locker and my pager was a one way transmitter. I had no way of calling for help.

"Okay Natalie I'm going to get you out of here and to help," I say pulling off my scrub top leaving me in my light green long sleeve. I press it to entry wound causing her to let out a whimper. "Sorry Nat. I know it hurts. Can you do something for me? I know you are in pain but I need you to hold my top in place. I need to find something to help me get you out of here and secure it. Can you do that?"

"I'll try," She mumbles and I let her carefully bring up her hands and press the top down. She lets out a small cry and I restrain from crying myself.

"Now Natalie I need you to tell me about your hysterectomy in fine detail," I say as I haul myself properly of the ground this time and look around.

"You hate OBGYN," She winces out with a smirk.

"I still want you to tell me," I say grabbing gloves off a shelf and pulling out a couple of pairs from the box.

Natalie tells me the surgery from the start. I was doing this to keep her awake. She had to stay conscious.

I need lap pads, scissors, saline, packing gauze, tension wrap, morphine and a sheet. Blood too if they had it. I find the lap pads, packing gauze and tension wrap quickly and the sheet and scissors shortly after. I then type in the code for the drugs dispenser and take out ten milligrams of morphine and saline. The morphine would completely dope her out but with what I was about to do she would need it.

"Right Natalie I have a plan but it's not going to be fun. It's going to hurt like hell," I say kneeling beside her and laying out the supplies. I quickly pull on a set of gloves. "I'm going to bandage your torso as tight as I can to try and slow the bleeding. I'm then going to put you on the sheet, dose you with morphine and drag you until we find help."

"You're insane," Nat grits out as I rip open the lap pads and packing gauze. "I like it."

The plan was beyond crazy but it was all we had. She was in too much of a bad state for me to lift her and even if she wasn't I wouldn't have been able to anyway. Natalie had at least four inches on me. I wouldn't be able to support her weight for long.

I carefully move her hands out of the way and remove my scrub top throwing it out of the way. I grab the scissors, cut open her scrub top and under shirt and pull the fabric gently out of the way. The wound was bad and I knew it was going to hurt more and more as I continued. I grab the saline and pour it over the wound causing Natalie to whimper before cleaning it carefully with the lap pads, throwing them out of the way when I was done. I then place the packing gauze over the bullet hole and know there isn't an exit wound. There would be way more bleeding if there was.

"This bit is going to hurt like hell Natalie but I need you to stay awake," I say ripping open the tension wrap.

"Please don't let me die," Natalie whispers as she starts to cry. "Maya please…"

"Natalie calm down," I say trying to keep my hands steady as I start to wrap the wound the best I can. She starts to cry in earnest at that. "I'm going to do my best to save you. I promise I will do my best."

She responds with a quiet sob and I wrap the gauze once more before deciding that's enough. I cut the excess and grab the morphine syringe, yanking the lid off. I inject it quickly watching as her eyes go hazy, the drug working, chuck the needle aside and then grab the sheet. I get her onto it easily. Good thing her head was towards the door. I stand up and open the door propping it open with a cart before grabbing the sheet. I slowly start to drag her causing her to yell out and I wince at the scream.

"HELP!" I yell as I reach the end of the corridor. I knew this was risky and stupid but I had to get help.

I look down at my pager, still dragging Natalie who was now sobbing, to find nothing. If they knew about the shooter there would be a Code Grey but there wasn't. The hospital was oblivious.

I carry on yelling and I go down three corridors pulling Natalie as fast as I could. Adrenalin keeps me going but I knew that wasn't the case for Natalie. She was fading. I had to get help fast.

"HELP! I NEED HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!" I scream rounding another corner.

A nurse barrels into me looking at me and Natalie in shock.

"I need a gurney and we need to take her to an OR now!" I say surprised at the calmness of my voice. "I also need your mobile phone. We need help. A shooter is in the hospital."

-CODE BLACK-

We get Natalie into an OR where Doctor Lewis was. He was a trauma attending and I nearly cry with relief. He looks at the scene in front of him in horror and I knew why. My scrubs where covered in Natalie's blood with Natalie lying in the gurney before me. The whole hospital now knew about the shooter and was presumably evacuating.

"Cameron! What the hell happened!?" He exclaims as we hook Natalie up to the monitors. She was unconscious now. Crap she was out.

"Natalie was shot. I found her twenty minutes ago in the store but she's been like this for at least twenty five," I ramble out trying to stay calm. "I did the best I could to control the bleeding before dragging her for help. She lost consciousness about five minutes ago but was lucid when I found her. I'm presuming from the entry point and blood loss we are dealing with a vein or organ hit."

"You did good Cameron," Doctor Lewis says after getting one of the nurses to hang blood. "You're the reason Lambert made it this far. You should be proud."

"I won't feel pride till she lives," I say surely as I peel off my green long sleeve and pull on the grey t-shirt a scrub nurse was handing to me. I don't question where it was from but feel awkward as my stomach was now stained with blood.

"Go scrub up Cameron we have work to…" He begins but he doesn't get to finish as an extremely panicked looking nurse bursts in.

"Doctor Cameron we need you in OR two!" They exclaim. "Doctor Saunders needs you."

"I thought we were starting the evacuation!" Lewis exclaims as the sound of Saunders name causes my heart my heart to drop. What could she want!?

"There's been another shooting victim. She's the closest thing we have to a trauma surgeon that isn't you right now. The majority of surgeons are AWOL right now," She replies and I knew I had to go from the tone of her voice. "Please. We need her."

"Cameron go," He says but part of me wants to stay. This was Natalie. I had to save Natalie. "I know you want to stay with your friend right now but somebody else needs to. You'll be too emotional for Natalie. Go help Saunders."

"Okay," I nod unsurely as I take off my gloves which were covered in Natalie's blood. "Page me if you need anything."

"Of course Cameron," He says. "Now go."

I nod and quickly leave following the nurse to OR two. I had a bad feeling about this and I had no idea why. This didn't feel like a normal surgery and I had no clue why Saunders would need me. She was a phenomenal surgeon in all aspects. She may be OBGYN and specialise in anything to do with babies but she could handle a gunshot wound with no issue. Something was seriously wrong.

The doors to OR two open and I get the second shock of the day.

Doctor Saunders was on the table with a gunshot wound to the right shoulder.


	77. Chapter 77: IMPOSSIBLE

**_Chapter 77:_** IMPOSSIBLE

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Present day_**

I'm cut off as both my and Leanne's pagers go off. I pull my out of my pocket and read the message and my heart drops.

 _CODE SILVER_

 _ER_

"That's armed assailant, right?" I ask standing up, but I was already knew the answer from Leanne's face.

"Yeah…"

She's cut off by my pager going off for a second time but this time I don't ask questions and sprint off. Leanne follows suit in what I'm presuming is confusion. However, I had to move. If the pager was correct I had to move.

 _EMERGENCY_

 _GSW VICTIM – CHARLOTTE PIEL_

 _ER WAITING ROOM_

-CODE BLACK-

I run into the waiting to complete chaos. I see Charlotte immediately. I run over to her pushing people out of the way and crouch down next to her. I see the bullet wound immediately and know if we didn't get her up to an OR and on Bypass she would die.

"Everybody move!" I order surely pulling on gloves. "We need to get Doctor Piel up to an OR now and onto bypass! Call Cardio and get them to meet us there!"

Nothing happens.

"MOVE!" I exclaim.

With that everyone jumps into action and we quickly get her onto a board. We lift her onto a gurney and I quickly jump on pressing my hands to her side. We make quick work of getting her to the lift and I take in her appearance. Her breathing was fast and weak and pulse was getting weaker. It takes three and a half minutes to get there and as soon as we get through I jump off. I knew Rorish and Campbell were somewhere behind me but I couldn't care less.

"Get her on bypass and hooked up now!" I say walking into the prep room.

I rip off the gloves and quickly start to scrub in watching as they prepped Charlotte and removed excess clothing. I take my scrub cap out of my pocket, put it on with my mask and then start to wash my hands. I follow correct procedure and watch as Charlotte is intubated. A couple of minutes later I'm back in with a scrub nurse helping me put my gown on and glove up.

"What's your plan Cameron?"

I look up to see Campbell and Leanne standing in the gallery. Campbell looked flustered but calm. Leanne on the other hand was crying and looked horrified. More people start to flood in and I knew this was going to be a full house.

"A thoracotomy. Scalpel!" I say surely taking the scalpel. "Looking at the entry site and angle she was most likely hit somewhere in the heart. Maybe a hilum judging on the amount of blood. Hang more O-Neg!"

"Can you save her?"

"I don't know until I get in there. Retractors!"

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Leanne says her voice shaky.

"Get me that cardio surgeon in here now!" I say as I start to get flustered. The gallery was now nearly full. I couldn't do this with people watching me. "Clear the gallery please. I can't work with everybody watching me."

"Of course," Leanne says. She then turns to everyone. "Everybody out! Go! You heard her! OUT!"

The room clears, and I take a shaky breath as I access the damage. Crap this was bad. There was a hole in the ventricle and I was right about the hilum. This was bad.

"Crap!" I exclaim causing a scrub nurse to jump. I close my eyes briefly and open them once I've calmed slightly. "Sorry, sorry I'm just getting flustered."

"Maya, look at me," Leanne says, and I do. My heart was pounding, and I was starting to sweat. It was taking all I have to keep my breathing steady. "Take a few deep breaths. In… Out… In… Out… That's it. You've got this Maya. You are a brilliant surgeon. You've got this."

"I've got this," I say taking a few more deep breaths. "I've got this."

Time to get to work.

-CODE BLACK-

 ** _Four hours later_**

"Are you ready to take her off bypass?" I ask as Doctor Regan puts down the graft he didn't use.

"Yes," He says stepping back. "Go ahead."

I watch as the bypass team start to do the procedure to take Charlotte off Bypass. I bounce from leg to leg and try not to freak out as the bypass fully stops. I watch as Regan takes the paddles and charges them. The first shock does nothing and I have to restrain from crying.

Come on Charlotte. Come on.

He charges the paddles again and shocks her again. A second later her heart starts beating and I finally breathe again. Her heart was beating and from the looks of it my hilum repair and Regan's ventricle repair were holding. She was going to be okay. She was okay.

"Cameron you've been in surgery practically all night," Doctor Regan says looking straight at me. "You look ready to pass out or cry. Go lie down or get coffee or whatever. I'll close."

"Thank you," I mumble stepping away. "I owe you one."

"You did good Cameron!" He calls after me. "This was an impossible save. If it wasn't for you, she'd be dead."

I exit the OR pulling off my gown and mask. I bin them, and it takes all I have not to just slide down the nearest wall and curl up there. I was exhausted, and my heart was pounding. That was insane. That was freaking insane.

I walk to the attending's lounge yet again, but I run head long into Heather. She looks at me startled but her expression quickly changes to concern. I probably looked like hell as I was now nearing the twenty-hour mark.

"How's Doctor Piel?" She asks.

"We got her off bypass. The graft is holding and so is the hilum repair. Doctor Regan is closing as we speak," I reply.

"When was the last time you ate?" She asks, and I restrain from raising and eyebrow.

I was surprised she cared. Heather and I didn't have a loving relationship. We would work together and keep it professional but that was it. Our paths crossed of course with her being a brilliant paediatric surgeon with a sub-specialisation of neonatal surgery. The amount of peds cases in the ER was horrific but she dealt with them expertly. It was Mario that made it awkward.

Five months after I left Angel's to go to New York Heather and Mario started a relationship. From what I've been told it didn't last long but it was serious enough that it left a sour taste all round when it ended. The jealousy and rivalry that had been between us two when I was in LA combined with the knowledge of their past relationship just caused us to be awkward together.

However at least Heather and I had something in common. We were both left broken hearted by Mario Savetti. Not deliberately of course but still broken hearted all the same.

"Near the start of the shift. So probably ten to fifteen hours ago. Why?" I ask awkwardly.

"Someone ordered pizza and cookies," She explains. "They're in the break room. There's also fresh coffee."

"Thanks," I say.

"You okay? You look ready to cry or pass out. Maybe both," She asks, and I inwardly groan. I was way too tired and drained for this.

"I'm just tired. It's been a long shift."

"Well we'll both be here for a while yet. We're still in Code Black," She says and it's that phrase that nearly makes me cry.

 _We're still in Code Black._

"Have they got the other shooters?" I ask rubbing my eyes.

"No. They've got shooter one and two but three is still on the loose," She explains but that's when I notice her left hand drift to her stomach in a protective way and rub it gently. Thinking about it that's the third time she's done that in this conversation. Is she…? "What are you staring at?"

"How far along are you?" I ask bluntly and her jaw drops. "Seriously Heather you've rubbed your stomach protectively three times in the past five minutes. How far along?"

"What are you? The pregnancy radar? I thought that was my job," She snorts. "I'm six weeks along. Nobody else knows. Not even Campbell. "

"Well let me be the first to say congratulations," I smile.

"Thanks," She grins. "It wasn't planned but me and my fiancé are excited."

"Fiancé? Wow, things have moved on since I was last here," I smirk and, in a way,, I felt a bit weird. This is the most personal I've ever got with Heather. "What's his name?"

"David," She smiles, and I could tell she was happy. "He's a police officer. What about you though? I heard you got yourself a fiancé! What's he like?"

"He's amazing. His name's Damien," I say it being my turn to grin. "He's a fire fighter and EMT."

"Look we both have to get back to work but do you want to go get some pizza with me?" She says, and I nod. "Let's go then."

And with that we head to the Attending's lounge.

I knew I had to go talk to Leanne at some point and then call Charlotte's family, but I had to take care of myself first. I was tired and hungry. One of those things could be fixed easily. So that's what I was going to do.

Thank goodness Heather reminded me that was able to fix one thing tonight. Even it was small.


	78. Chapter 78: HEPARIN

**_Chapter 78:_** HEPARIN

 ** _Maya's POV_**

"Everyone quiet down!" Jesse yells over the noise of the ER. "We have news on Doctor Piel."

The ER quiets almost instantly and Leanne looks to me and Doctor Regan. We were both here to give everyone an update as we had been given permission from the family to do so. They were all looking at us for answers. Answers we thankfully had.

"As everyone is aware Doctor Charlotte Piel was the victim of a gunman attack earlier tonight," I say. "Her family has granted us permission to update you on her condition. We are happy to say that Charlotte is now stable. She's currently in the ICU after we were successful in repairing her internal injuries. She's got a long journey a head of her and it's not guaranteed without problems but she is stable. Charlotte is still alive."

There's a short silence as the news settles in but seconds later the ER erupts into applause. It takes all I have not to cry. My emotions were running stupidly high and I was exhausted. I knew I would be here for a while yet as we had moved back into Code Black. I jump slightly when I feel a hand gently grab my elbow.

"Maya, you did well tonight," Leanne says softly to me as people start to disperse. "You made an impossible save."

"I know. I'm just tired," I whisper. "I need to get a grip."

"We are all tired," She whispers. "I understand."

"I'll talk to you later," I say rubbing my eyes tiredly and grabbing a file off the reception desk. "I have a patient."

-CODE BLACK—

"So Miss Palmer I'm Doctor Cameron," I smile politely as I walk behind the privacy curtain. "What brings you to the ER this evening?"

"I've got this pain in my chest that goes down my left arm and up to my jaw. It comes and goes lasting twenty minutes every time," She says and I could see the fear in her eyes. She was young with her only being twenty-four. "I came in because I got a heart transplant about eight months ago due to Cardiac Amyloidosis. I was worried it was something to do with that."

"Okay so let's not panic," I say gently. "If it's any comfort I'm a transplant surgeon. I'll know if there's something wrong."

"Thank you," She says.

"I'm just going to do a quick physical exam and ask a few questions. Okay?" I say pulling on gloves. She nods so I gently start to exam her glands in her neck. "Have you been experiencing any symptoms other than chest pain?"

"Uh, vomiting and nausea… sweating… shortness of breath…" She rhymes off and my heart drops slightly as it hits me what this might be.

Glands are clear.

"Have you had the sensation of being able to feel your heartbeat or feeling seriously ill?" I say as I check her blood pressure.

Slightly high…

"Yeah. Both," She says. "But the heartbeat thing is normal for me."

"I'm just going to have a quick listen to your heart and then hook you up to a monitor," I smile calmly. "I'll then bring you up to do an ECG and some other tests. Okay?"

"Okay," She nods but before I can listen to her heart she gasps in pain.

"Miss Lewis is the chest pain back?" I ask adjusting the bed to make her more comfortable.

She nods, and I quickly take in her symptoms. She's breathing raggedly and begins to sweat, and I know what it is without having to do the tests. Unstable Angina due to Acute Pulmonary Syndrome. It was a rare complication.

"Now Miss Palmer I need you to try and relax," I say softly as I unlock the meds cabinet. Thank goodness I was next to it. I quickly find what I'm looking for, heparin, and take it out. "I'm going to give you something to help…"

I don't get to finish as someone bursts into the small area which was in closed by three curtains. It takes a minute for me to register even vaguely that it wasn't a member of staff from Angel's and then a further second to realise that the guy fits the description of the third shooter the police had given us. He closes the curtain directly behind him and I knew what was coming next so I cover Miss Lewis' mouth quickly. She gives me a confused look as she continues to writhe in pain but that confusion quickly turns to fear when the man draws a gun.

"Miss Palmer I need you to stay calm," I whisper before turning to him. "Sir put the gun down. You don't have to do this."

"Oh, I do," He smirks and that's when I notice the dripping blood from his side and him holding his stomach. "You see you're going to help me and then you're going to let me leave. And you're going to do so without screaming or alerting anyone."

"And why would I do that?" I say taking my hand away from Miss Palmer's mouth and slipping my hand into my pocket. I hit what I hope is the button to page Rorish but I'm not certain.

"Because I have a gun pointed at your head Blondie," He says bluntly. "You will help me."

"You don't think I've never had a gun pointed at my head before?" I say calmly trying to hide my fear. "Why don't you put the gun down and I help you properly? I will take you into centre stage and get you the help you need. That wound looks surgical."

The wound was a graze based on the location. There was nothing surgical about it. But he didn't need to know that.

Before I can react, he surges forward and grabs the injection of heparin out of my hand. In one swift move he injects the syringe into my neck and then punches me squarely in the face. I stumble back slightly in shock as blood gushes out of my nose and then the horror sets in. I had two minutes before the Heparin kicked in and then after that I had eighteen minutes before stage three hypovolemic shock kicks in. I spit out blood that was already gathering in my mouth and try to calm. Breathe through your mouth Maya. Breathe through your mouth.

"Now I know enough that what I just injected you with will make your nose bleed like hell. And your nose will carry on bleeding until you die unless someone stops it," He says sadistically as I choke on more blood. "Now treat me."

"Sit down on the chair," I say trying not to gag. I glance at my watch to find its 4:02AM. I had to 04:22AM at most before I was cognitively impaired. I look at Miss Palmer to find her breathing raggedly. She was still having an ACS episode.

"You are to tell me exactly what you're doing at each point," He says sitting down and I try to stay calm. If he let me touch my nose I could stop the bleed before the Heparin kicked in but I knew that wasn't going to happen.

"I'm putting gloves on and then checking your wound," I say calmly as I clearly put on a new pair of gloves. "I will then inject you with some lidacaine to numb…"

"No drugs," He says firmly. Dammit. There's that plan gone.

"Okay," I say putting my hands up in the air. "I am going to check the wound now. It will hurt like hell when I start to clean the wound and stitch it up."

"Just do it," He says.

With one last glance to Miss Palmer, I lift up the gunman's t-shirt. My nose had now started to bleed profusely so I now knew the Heparin had kicked in. Every so often I have to spit out blood and breathing was getting harder. Crap.

My scrub top was quickly getting soaked with blood and it's now all I could taste. The light-headedness wasn't fading any time soon and I knew this was only going to get worse if that page wasn't answered soon.

His wound is superficial but deep. From the amount of bleeding I know there's no organ damage but it will need stitches. The gunman will need antibiotics as well as his bandages changed regularly. I slowly move away from him making my movements clear and move to grab the alcohol and cleaning pads.

"I'm going to clean the wound now," I say clearly. A wave of dizziness hits me so hard my vision blurs and I knew it was a matter of time before I passed out.

He nods as I soak the pads in alcohol and then gently wipe his stomach and side. He winces and bites his lip. My hands were shaking and it takes all I have to grab the suture kit. I take a glance at Miss Lewis to find her calmer. The episode must be ending.

"I'm…" I begin but I have to spit out more blood so can't continue. I take a deep breath through my mouth and continue. "I'm going to suture your wound now."

I quickly prep the suture kit but my head was spinning too much. All I could taste was blood and I was starting to feel nauseous. Come on. My page had to have got through to somewhere. Please someone come… Please…

"Did someone call me for a page… What the hell is going on here!?"

Heather's voice comes from behind me and I sigh in relief. Before the gunman can react I surge forward grabbing a sedative. Just as I get the cap off the gunman reacts and I feel another punch hit my nose. Thankfully I manage to get the syringe injected into his right thigh and the gun knocked out of his hands. Five seconds later he's out and I fall to the ground with my nosebleed being way worse. I look at my watch to find its 4:13AM and I now knew I was screwed.

"Oh my gosh Maya!" Heather exclaims surging towards me.

"Get help," I choke out. "Give the patient a dose of Heparin. She has Acute Coronary Syndrome and an Unstable Angina."

"Maya what happened!?" She says ripping the privacy curtains open. "HELP SOMEBODY HELP!"

"Miss Palmer are you okay?" I say checking the gunman's pulse. He's stable and out.

"Doctor Cameron you saved us," She chokes out.

"Are you still experiencing chest pain?" I push.

"Yeah. It's worse that earlier," She whimpers as I push myself up and grab my nose.

It was broken and bleeding. It was bleeding badly. My head spins and I spit out more blood as the nausea hits me harder.

"Heather I need to get to centre stage now," I whisper as my head spins more.

Security and Leanne arrive in a flurry before Heather can react and I feel towels being pushed to my face seconds later. I wince and I see Miss Palmer being wheeled away out of the corner of my eye. The gunman is restrained and put on a gurney.

"Maya what happened!?" Heather says again kneeling down.

"He came into the cubicle while I was… treating Miss Palmer and threatened to shoot if I didn't treat him. I refused so he… grabbed the heparin from my hand that I was… about to give to Miss Palmer for an unstable Angina," I splutter out. "He dosed me with it and then punched me… That was about four oh two AM. If you don't stop the bleeding soon I will… go into shock."

"Maya I need you to stay calm," Leanne says. "We're going to get you into Centre Stage and help you."

My head spins as Leanne applies more pressure to my nose. I'm lifted onto a gurney and I feel my stomach lurch as Heather gets onto the gurney with me. Leanne discards the used towel and Heather takes over with a new one. I look at the scene beside the gurney and instantly panic. There was a lot of blood. I mean chainsaw massacre amount of blood. The how the hell are how you still conscious amount of blood. My head pounds as I choke out more blood and the world flips. If it wasn't for Rorish I would be off the gurney.

"That's a lot of blood," I mumble and my eyes start to droop closed.

"Maya stay with me!" Heather says throwing away another towel as we get into Centre Stage. "Just focus on me. Talk to me."

"This shift just keeps getting worse," I splutter out.

"That it does," She says. "That it does."


	79. Chapter 79: BLEED

**_Chapter 79:_** BLEED

 ** _Heather's POV_**

By the time we get to centre stage Maya was nearly completely out of it. Her breathing was ragged and despite the towel on her nose she has to keep spitting out blood. She's hooked up quickly to a heart rate monitor and a blood pressure cuff on the left and I could see even staying awake for her was getting harder.

I glance at the clock to find its 4:19AM. We had three minutes to get this bleeding stopped.

"We have three minutes before Maya goes into hypovolemic shock," I say carefully getting off the gurney to allow to Doctor Rorish to raise the back of it. Maya can't lie down, or all the blood will drain down her throat.

"Maya I'm going to get an IV into your arm to get bloods in okay? What type are you?"

"AB negative…" She chokes out. Of course, she had to be the rarest blood type. "I'm on ferrous galfer… daily vitamin supplements, Loratadine… anti-anxiety meds… and anti-depressants _…_ Allergic Penicillin _…_ I can't breathe… There's too much… blood…"

It was true. Maya was practically hyperventilating but due to it she kept choking. Jesse moves quickly beside me with suction which eases Maya's breathing slightly but not much. I glance at the monitors to see she's tachycardic and has a Systolic of 95. She was in stage three hypovolemic shock. I look up at Doctor Rorish who had got the IV in and was now hanging blood.

"Doctor Rorish, she's in Stage Three Hypovolemic Shock," I say throwing yet another towel away and pressing another to her nose. The bleeding was refusing to slow, and Maya was now beginning to become limp. She was sweating profusely, and her eyes were now drooping closed. "Maya stay with me!"

"I'm going to be…sick…" Maya whimpers.

Jesse quickly grabs a basin and pushes under Maya's chin. She empties her stomach contents almost immediately after and that's when I see the tears rolling down her face, streaking lines in the dried blood. There's blood in the sick but that's most likely from the nosebleed draining into her stomach. She lets out a small moan when she finishes and sways to the side causing me to have to push back onto the gurney. We were losing her.

"Pushing FFP!" Doctor Rorish exclaims grabbing a syringe and injecting it into her IV.

Maya was now giggling quietly, and I knew that if this didn't stop within six minutes she would be almost gone. I look at Rorish who gives me a concerned look. She leans over to a nurse and whispers something before turning to Maya.

"Maya I'm going to reset your nose and then cauterise your nose," She says. "The bleeding doesn't seem to be stopping by itself, so we have no choice. It's going to hurt like hell though as we don't have time to numb your nose. Maya, I need you to understand that. It will hurt."

"Dude I'm already in a… lot of… pain," She chokes out in a giddy tone. I now knew she was long gone. She called Rorish dude… "Of all the crap I've survived…"

Rorish rolls her eyes and then gets me to remove the towel. The blood flows freely now and I watch as Rorish resets her nose. Somehow by some horrible turn of events that's when the bleeding worsens. Maya's head falls back onto the gurney and she goes unconscious. Her breathing was quick and laboured, her BPM was way over 140 and her blood pressure was dropping.

"We need to cauterise this now," Rorish says talking the cauterising rod. "Heather hold her head steady."

I do so quickly and watch as Rorish pushes the rod up Maya's left nostril. She presses the button and there's a smell of burning flesh. It's not long before the right side is done, and she's give the rod back to the nurse. The bleeding finally slows and thirty seconds later it completely stops.

"Right we need to get Maya up to the ICU and get her on Aprotinin or Desmopressin," Doctor Rorish says. "She'll need to be monitored for the next twelve hours until we are certain the Heparin is out of her system as there might be a re-bleed. We also need to get her on more iron and continue her on a blood transfusion until her levels are back up. She will need prophylaxis and fluids as well."

"We should do a CT of the head and abdomen as well," I pipe in as Jesse uses the suction to clear her mouth and airway. "To check she hasn't haemorrhaged. We should also start her on Norepinephrine to bring up her blood pressure."

"Good call," Doctor Rorish says and I glance at the monitors.

Maya's stats were now even but nowhere near where we wanted them to be. She may be stable but her heart rate was still slightly fast and her blood pressure dangerously low. Her breathing had calmed slightly but not by much. She was in bad shape.

"Did they get the gunman?" Rorish asks.

"Yeah," Jesse says. "Mario is dealing with him. Police are taking him in when he's cleared."

"Brave stupid girl," Rorish says taking off her gloves and brushing the hair out of Maya's face.

Looking at Maya now I knew how lucky she had been. She was covered in blood with the chest and collar of her scrub top being soaked through, her bottoms being splattered, and parts of her hair were matted to her face. She was deathly pale with huge bags under her eyes and bruising was starting to form around her nose. If we had stopped the bleeding a minute later, she would be dead.

"Someone should clean her up," I say quietly. "And call her fiancé."

"I'll call her fiancé," Jesse says taking off his gloves.

"I'll go clean her up and take her up to the ICU," Rorish whispers as she brings up the barriers of the gurney. "Go get changed Heather. You got hit with a lot of blood."

I look down at my scrubs only noticing now that I was covered in blood too most likely from being on the gurney. I nod and take off my gloves heading to the locker room.

That was a close call. A dangerously close call.

Maya and I may have a strained relationship, but nobody deserved that. The pain she would be when in she woke up would be immense and because of most painkillers having blood thinning properties she wouldn't be able to take anything to sooth it.

I sigh as I make it to the locker room and open my locker.

Thank goodness she was okay.

Thank goodness.


	80. Chapter 80: ICU

**_Chapter 80:_** ICU

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I come around slowly to a throbbing headache and ringing in my ears. Everywhere hurt and even opening my eyes was a battle. Everything was too bright and when I try to take a deep breath through my nose all I get is more pain. I let out a small whine shifting slightly. I was in an uncomfortable position being half upright and even the small movement causes excruciating pain to course through my body. The beeping of the heart monitor causes sharp pain to rip through my skull and I resist the urge to cry in pain. Anxiety was hitting me in waves and I have to fight to stay calm.

"Maya? Maya are you awake?"

A voice comes from my left and I slowly turn my head to face them. It was Leanne and I could tell she had been here for a while. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, grey t-shirt and black boots with her hair in loose ponytail. She looked tired and I instantly feel guilty.

"How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted… Sore…" I choke out. My throat was raw and dry, and it hurts to speak. Crap… How long have I been out? "Could I… get some water… please?"

"Of course," She says, and I wince at the volume of her voice. "Sorry. I'll see if I can get you some ice chips."

She gets up and what I think is a few minutes later returns with a plastic cup. She gently places it in my right hand and that's when I notice the IV and central line. I turn my head to the right and see four bags hanging one full of a red liquid and the three others with clear liquid.

Prophylaxis, Coagulants, Fluids and Bloods most likely.

"Thanks," I mumble slowly putting a chip in my mouth. The movement to do so is almost unbearable and I notice the nasal tube then. That's why my nose feels blocked.

"You gave us quite the scare," Leanne says softly sitting back down. "You've been out for nearly a day and after the re-bleed we thought we'd lost you. We've had to put in a nasal drain to make sure the blood would stop going into your stomach. You had no other haemorrhages, thank goodness, and your stats have finally started to normalise. We've put you on Aprotinin, Prophylaxis, FFP, Norepinephrine, fluids and a blood transfusion. They seem to be helping."

"That explains the anxiety," I whisper but that's when I feel the pain in my chest. I wince and gasp slightly as my head starts to spin and my heart begins to pound. "Something's… wrong…"

"Maya what's wrong?" Leanne says standing up quickly and taking the cup out of my hand setting it aside.

"Chest pain… Dizzy… Heart's beating like crazy…" I choke out and I watch as she looks at the monitors. Realisation floods her features.

"Maya you're having palpations," She says, and I inwardly groan. Great. Just what I needed. "It's a side effect of your medications and a symptom of anaemia. I need you to try and breathe deeply as much as you can through your mouth, okay?"

"Okay…" I whimper and begin to try to breathe normally. My breaths were shaky, and I have to close my eyes to focus.

It's a while before my pulse and breathing calms down and by the time it does I'm even more exhausted. Gosh I didn't think that was possible. I feel drained and I'd only been up for about half an hour at most. I open my eyes and try to relax. My head was pounding, and I knew there was no pain relief I could have that would help. I felt like I had been hit by a bus.

"Maya, sweetheart, are you with me?" Leanne asks softly, and I smirk weakly.

"Did you just call me sweetheart? You do realise I'm thirty-one, right?"

"I'm still nearly twenty years your senior, remember?" She smirks, and I roll my eyes. "You're going to be here for at least a couple of days. Your immune system is very weak at the minute and we want to finish your course of medications before you leave. It would also be good to keep an eye on you in case of re-bleeds. The heparin may be out of your system, but a re-bleed would still be dangerous."

"Okay," I say quietly. "Who all know about what happened?"

"Your grandfather, Aunt and fiancé," Leanne says softly. "Alison says she's going to stay in Chicago as there's an inspection happening in her hospital currently, but she said she'd be down as soon as possible if your condition deteriorates. Your grandfather, Damien and I have been taking shifts on sitting with you. I actually need to call them to say you're awake."

"Okay," I say again but then start to chuckle softly. This was ridiculous.

"What's so funny?"

"I've spent way too much time in hospital beds in the past eight years. There shouldn't be a procedure in how to deal with it," I chuckle running a hand through my hair. "One of those times was exactly this time four years ago."

"The shooting?" Leanne asks softly.

"Yeah."

"We got a call from New York while you were out," She whispers. "Your friend's mother is in recovery. She's not out of the woods but she's improving."

"Good."

"She was awake briefly," Leanne says, and I bite my lip. "She says stop blaming yourself."

"Of course she would say that," I snort.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Well I haven't finished my story."


	81. Chapter 81: INTO THE FIRE (PART TWO)

**_Chapter 81:_** INTO THE FIRE (PART TWO)

 ** _Maya's POV_**

 ** _Four years ago_**

"Doctor Cameron, good. They found you," Saunders hisses out breathing heavily.

Her voice drags me out of my shock and I jump into action.

"Saunders what the hell happened!?" I explain darting over to her pulling gloves on. I then turn to the nurses. "Hook her up to IV fluids and bloods please. O-neg. I'll do the IV in the left arm."

"Yes Doctor Cameron," They say and they start to grab the IV bags and hang them. I quickly grab the IV kit ripping it open.

"I got cornered by the shooter. I was one of the people he was looking for… OW CAMERON!"

"Sorry," I say apologetically as I finish the IV.

"He's a parent of one of my cases. A little boy who died. Lucas Reid," She says and my heart drops. Natalie and I were on that case. I make the decision not to tell Saunders about Natalie now. She could find out later. "I think you and Natalie were on that case."

"We were," I say grabbing a pair of scissors. "Now you're not going to like this but I'm going to start removing un-needed items of clothing."

"Do what you need to do," She grits out.

I nod and quickly take of her shoes and scrub bottoms throwing them into a plastic bag a nurse was holding out for me before moving up to her torso. I cut straight up her scrub top and under shirt and gently pull them away from her body.

Her right shoulder is a mess and I instantly know I was out of my depth. I bite my lip and try to stay calm. This was going to get bad fast. It wasn't a through and through but I knew as soon as I started to make incisions and move to find the bullet there would be a lot of blood.

"Right we need to move her from this table to the other gurney," I say as I gently put Saunders' hair into a cap. She was being very quiet but she was also breathing very rigidly. She was in pain. A lot of it. "Is there an anaesthesiologist here?"

"Yes. Me," A tall man says and that's the first time I realise he's wearing attending scrubs. Oh thank goodness. And that's when I recognise him. Doctor Roberts.

"I need you to hook her up to the machines and sedate her while I scrub in," I say. "Is there an ultra sound in here?"

"No," He says and I sigh.

"I'm going in blind then," I say and then turn to face Saunders. "Saunders do you trust me to do that?"

"If I didn't trust you I wouldn't be letting you operate on me Cameron," She says bluntly. "Do what you have to do."

"Doctor Roberts can you change her into a gown please," I say walking into the prep room. "Are you scrubbed in?"

"Yes Doctor Cameron," He says.

I pull my hair into a tight bun and then pull my maroon scrub cap out of my back pocket. I put it on and then put on the booties and mask. My hands shake as I wash my hands and arms thoroughly. I watch as Doctor Roberts puts Doctor Saunders under and I take a few deep breaths to try and calm down. She keeps her eyes on me right up until she's out. I close my eyes as I finish scrubbing in. This could get bad fast.

I had my mentor's life in my hands.

"Is she under?" I ask as I walk into the operating theatre.

"Yes. Just about to intubate her," Doctor Roberts says as a scrub nurse helps me put a gown on and gloves.

The intubation goes quickly and I roll my shoulders and try to stay calm. I was in way over my head and it was taking all I had to stay calm.

"Right we need to sterilise her shoulder and then I will make incisions. Scalpel," I say and I'm given it almost immediately. "I can judge the area the bullet went in by looking at the wound."

"How are you planning on checking on nerve damage?" Roberts asks and my heart drops. That's neuro or ortho.

"I… I don't have enough neuro or ortho knowledge to tell right now," I say trying to stay calm. "Even then I don't think it would be possible to know at this moment in time. I don't think we would know until she wakes…"

The door bursts open behind me.

"HANDS WERE I CAN SEE THEM! TURN AROUND!"

A male voice comes from behind me and I know who it is instantly. My heart starts to pound and I begin to shake. I turn around slowly raising my hands above my head. The scalpel was still in my right hand with me being too afraid to drop it.

"Step away from her now!"

I hesitate and so does Roberts. If we stepped away from Saunders there was a risk that there would be complications with the anaesthesia. I could not allow that to happen.

"Move!" He yells firing a shot at the ceiling. I jump but don't move. I was way too scared. "Drop the scalpel!"

I do it immediately and flinch at the noise of it hitting the ground.

"Sir calm down. Let's talk about this!" Doctor Roberts says calmly. "Put the gun down. Nobody else needs to get…"

There's a loud bang.

Doctor Robert's hits the ground and I feel blood hit my face causing me to cry out in shock. I look to my right and see Roberts lying dead on the ground. A bullet hole to the head.

"Step away from her or you'll be next," He says bluntly.

I do as I'm told and step away from Saunders. My legs were shaking so much I was surprised that I was still standing and it takes all I have not to start crying. I knew the moment I took my mask off I would be in the same position as Saunders.

"Take off your masks and put your hands behind your head."

We all follow the instructions slowly and I see the recognition in Mr Reid's eyes. Anger flows into his expression and I take a few shaky breaths into an attempt to stay calm. He surges forward and pins me against the wall, pointing the gun at my head.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" He screams at me. "YOU KILLED MY BOY! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING!"

I can't respond being too afraid and instead let out a small sob. I was almost hyperventilating and I start to struggle.

"STOP MOVING!" He exclaims and I do so immediately. "Do you have anything to say for yourself!?"

"I… I…" I stutter out but no words will come out.

"On your knees now!"

Mr Reid releases me and I comply with his demand. I could tell the scrub nurses were terrified and I desperately try to avoid looking at Saunders. The next thing I know I'm on the floor. I taste blood and let out another sob. I think he hit me with his gun. I can't be sure.

"Sir please calm…" I begin finding some courage but it earns me a kick to the side. I crumple to the ground whimpering.

"You're the last doctor on the team that caused my son to die!" He yells and I flinch at his voice. "Stand up!"

I stand up slowly keeping my hands in clear view. I was terrified and I was finding it harder and harder to breathe normally. I could see Mr Reid getting angrier and I knew it was only a matter of time before he would shot me. Let's just hope it's in a place I can be helped.

"Time to pay for my son," He says raising his gun.

I close my eyes and prepare myself.

The room explodes in a series of bangs and crashes. Pain goes through my right arm and left side and I hit the ground covering my head. A few seconds later I feel a hand on my right shoulder and under my left armpit. I'm hauled up and dragged out of the OR but despite my fear I struggle.

"Saunders! I can't leave her alone. She could get complications due to the anaesthesia!" I exclaim as I'm pushed out the door.

"Ma'am stay calm," The man pushing me exclaims. "There is a trauma team on their way in. They will take care of her."

"What about Reid!?"

"He's dead."

The words hit me just as the man stops. Reid is dead. The man who shot us is dead. He's dead. I stand up straight and watch as the SWAT member goes back into the chaos. I rip off my surgical gown with my gloves and scrub cap and run a hand through my hair.

"Blondie?"

I turn round to see Eli standing behind me. He looks pale and he has blood splattered on him. I smile at him weakly and rub my eyes.

"The shooter is dead," I say distantly. I was shaking and it was taking all I had to stay standing. "He's gone."

"Maya sit down," Eli says softly. "You're bleeding. I need you to sit down."

"I'm bleeding…?" I mumble looking down and find blood coming out of my side and right bicep. "Huh."

"Maya you're in shock. I need you to…" Eli begins but he doesn't get to finish as dizziness hits me hard.

"I don't feel so good…" I mumble as the room spins.

"Maya…"

My legs buckle and the room flips.

Everything goes black.

-CODE BLACK-

"Maya? Maya are you awake?"

I come round slowly to a throbbing headache and someone calling my name. My head pounds and there's pain in my right arm and left side. I slowly open my eyes and instantly regret it. The room is bright and the persistent beeping noise causes fierce pain to go through my already pounding head.

"Maya are you with me?"

Damien. That's Damien's voice. It's coming from my left.

"Damien…?" I whisper quietly turning my head to face him.

His dark brown hair is a mess as per usual and I can see light stubble across his jaw and cheeks. His brown eyes looked exhausted and underneath them were dark circles. He looked awful.

"Hey bright eyes," He grins tiredly leaning forward and brushing my hair out of my face. I lean into his hand and sigh. That's when I notice the nasal cannula. "How you feeling?"

"Tired… Sore…" I mumble groggily. "Why am I…? What's going…?"

Then it hits me. The shooting. Natalie. Saunders. The SWAT team.

Everything hits me.

"Damien there's a shooter in the hospital!" I exclaim bolting upright. Pain shoots through my side and arm and I wince. "We have to get the shooter! People aren't safe!"

My head spins and my breathing picks up. The beeping gets faster and it takes all I have no to pass out. My heart pounds and I feel the panic rise as breathing gets harder. I let out a sob and close my eyes. We had to get him. We had to.

I feel two hands grab my wrists carefully and gently and bring my hands down to my side. The hands then move to my face wiping away my tears. I struggle slightly breathing heavily.

"Maya, open your eyes babe. I need you to calm down. Come on," Damien says surely and I slowly open my eyes. He leans his head against mine and I start to calm. "The shooter is dead. You're okay. You are safe."

"Shooter… Dead…" I choke out trying to reason with myself. "I'm okay."

"You're okay," He whispers. "Maya deep breaths. I'm going to go and get Eli. Try and stay still in case you pull your stitches."

I nod and lie down as he releases my face. I take a few shaky deep breaths and close my eyes. The memories of what happened come at me in full now and it takes all I have to stay calm. My memory of what happened towards the end is foggy though. There were loud bangs. I was dragged out and I was bleeding. I passed out.

And now I was here. I had no idea what time it was or what day it was but I was hooked up to what seemed to be an IV, heart monitor and had a nasal cannula in. I take check on my injuries and inwardly groan. My jaw hurt and my head pounds. The entirety of my torso aches with the left side being worse off. My right bicep is throbbing. In general I hurt all over and feel exhausted.

"Blondie?"

I look up to see Eli walk into the room with Doctor Lewis. They both looked exhausted.

"Eli? Doctor Lewis?" I say quietly. "What happened? Where did I get hurt? How's Natalie and Saunders?"

"Maya you've been out for nearly forty-eight hours," Doctor Lewis says. "You were shot in the left side and right bicep. Both through and through. You didn't need surgery as they just clipped you. We stitched you up but you're going to have to take it easy for a while. Despite the fact they weren't major wounds you still lost a fair amount of blood and I don't want you to pull your stitches. I think the reason you stayed asleep for so long was shock and exhaustion."

"You gave us quite the scare Bright Eyes," Damien says softly and I see the fear in his eyes. Guilt hits me and I avoid eye contact with him.

"How's Saunders and Natalie?" I ask again.

That's when I see their expression. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

"Maya there's something we need to discuss and it's going to hurt," Damien says softly. "There was a lot of death and collateral damage caused by the shooting. A lot of hurt and pain and devastation."

"Damien… What are you talking about?" I say shakily.

"Maya by the time they got to Saunders a lot of damage had been done. They stabilised her and got the bullet out but the nerve damage means there is a very low chance that she will ever operate again," He whispers and my heart drops. The beeping from my monitor gets more persistent and I desperately try to stay calm. "She's awake and she knows. She wants to say it wasn't your fault and would like to see you when you're cleared."

"Okay…" I choke out.

"There were also three deaths from the incident," Eli says and I see him stiffen. "It…"

He can't continue as tears start to roll down his face. He turns away avoiding eye contact with me and I instantly knew it was bad.

"Maya… Ethan Roberts, Lorraine Thomas and Natalie Lambert are dead," Lewis says quietly and my world stops.

Natalie…

"What…?" I mumble as tears start to fall.

"You were there when Roberts died. Eli was with Lorraine. She was too far gone by the time help got to them," Lewis says and I see Eli stiffen. Oh gosh Eli. "Natalie… Natalie bled out on the table. She was in a bad way when you got her to us. We did all we could but there was too much blood."

My ears start to ring and I just about keep a lid on my breathing. I let out a sob as realisation hits me. My best friend was dead. She had been killed by a deranged shooter.

Oh gosh.

Doctor Lambert. Her mom. Crap.

My sobbing gets harder and I gasp for breath. I feel Damien wrap his arms around me and it just causes me to break down more. I hear Lewis saying something about being sorry and saying he'll give me some space and to call him if he was needed. Eli squeezes my good arm gently.

"Eli I've got this," Damien whispers as he starts to rock my back and forward. "Go and get some coffee man. You've been here for nearly three days."

I hear Eli leave but I can't stop crying long enough to talk to him. I cling to Damien who just holds me tighter. I soak his shirt in seconds and all he does is smooth my hair.

"Shush it's okay. You're going to be okay Bright Eyes," He whispers. "It's going to be okay. You're okay. We'll get through this. Shush…"

I cling to him and let it out. It takes me a while to calm down but by the time I down I'm shaking. I feel exhausted and numb. Damien doesn't let go even when the sobbing stops. He just stays there holding me, quietly whispering comforts into my hair but I barely hear them.

My best friend was dead.

Natalie Lambert was dead.


	82. Chapter 82: MENDING FENCES

**_Chapter 82:_** MENDING FENCES

 ** _Maya's POV_**

I stare at the ceiling bored out of my mind, waiting for somebody to come and release me. I'd been here for a day and a half and I was thankful I was being released today. Being stuck in this bed was driving me slowly insane. I turn my head when I hear the door open and inwardly groan with I see who it is.

"Hello Mario," I say politely. "Are you here to discharge me finally?"

"Yep," He says waving a clipboard in the air. "How you feeling?"

"Still a bit weak but substantially better that when I woke up," I say. "Heart palpitations and nausea are gone. Still got a fever."

"That's normal. You know that's what happens with the meds that we put you on," He says writing something on the chart. He then hands it to me with the pen. "Here. You already know where to sign."

I do so quickly and hand it back to him. He smiles and clips the pen back onto the board. He nearly looks identical to when I left eight years ago, with the only difference being his eyes looking older and him having a few grey hairs. He still had the blue eyes that I had fallen in love with and the curly black mess he called hair. He was barely different.

"How are you getting home?" Mario asks quietly as he pulls on a pair of gloves. "I'm just going to remove your IV then you're good to go."

"My fiancé will be here to pick me up at nine," I reply giving him my right hand. "He has work or he would be here earlier. I'll just hang about the cafeteria or the Attending's Lounge till he gets here."

"I'll give you a ride home. It'll save him from coming," He says as he removes the IV. I raise an eyebrow. He was being nice to me…? "That's the IV out."

"You don't have to do that Mario," I say softly. "You don't have to be nice to me."

"Maya look," He says quietly. "I know it's awkward between us, but we have to function to some extent. We work together, and I want to at least be civil. Let me give you a ride home. You might be release ready, but you are still sick. It won't be as comfortable for you to stick around the hospital as it would be if you were at home."

"Okay," I say giving in too tired to care. "I just need to get changed and I'll be ready to go."

"Good," He says. "I'll be back in ten minutes. I just need to give in this form and then get changed myself."

"Thank you," I say quietly.

And with that he leaves.

-CODE BLACK-

"I just need to call Hannah before we set off," Mario says as we get into his car. And that's when I notice the car seat. Why is there…?

"Hannah?" I ask confused.

"My wife," He smiles and that's when I see the ring on his left hand.

"You're married now!?" I exclaim grinning. "Since when?"

"We have our five-year anniversary coming up," He grins. "We have a son too. He's called Peter and is three."

"Good for you," I smile at him. "I'm glad you found someone."

"Likewise. Your fiancé is a fire fighter right?"

"Yeah he is," I say and it's my turn to grin. "We're getting married in May."

"We've both found someone," He smiles and then waves his phone.

While he's on the phone I take the opportunity to text Damien to say I was on my way home. He replies fairly quickly, and I then return my phone to my hoodie pocket and buckle my seatbelt. I also get the tail end of Mario's conversation.

"Love you. Bye Grasshopper."

He hangs up the phone and drops it into a cup holder. I raise an eyebrow at him and he rolls his eyes. I chuckle softly.

"Grasshopper?" I giggle.

"Awk shut up," He says rolling his eyes as he starts the car. "We all have nicknames for people. You must have one for Damien."

"You got me there," I chuckle. "I call him Smoky."

"How's the research going?" He asks changing the subject.

"Good. The testing is going well, and the results are promising," I say. "Depending on how that goes it could be getting phased into human testing within six months."

"That's amazing."

"What does your wife do?"

"She's an epidemiologist," Mario smiles. "I met her at a seminar on crisis management and national disasters. She's special. I'm lucky to have found her."

"She sounds cool."

"How did you meet Damien?"

 _I met him at the Grand Central Bombings. He stitched up my head after I was blown up. We dragged bodies, alive and dead, out of the carnage together._

"We meet through work," I say not in the mood to explain what happened at Grand Central. "He's a fire-fighter and EMT. Our jobs crossed, and he eventually asked me out on a date. It developed from there."

And when I say first date I mean a one-night stand that turned into a two-night stand, then a three, then a four… Yeah it escalated but Mario didn't need to know that

"This is us," Mario says as the car comes to a stop. "Do you need help getting to your apartment?"

"No, I'm good," I say grabbing my bag. "I'm going to get a shower and then binge watch Homeland on Netflix."

"Then take care of yourself and I'll see you at work in a couple of days," He smiles.

"Thanks for the lift Mario," I smile back as I open the car door. "Say hi to Hannah and Peter for me."

"Will do. See you Maya."

And with that I get out closing the car door behind me and head up Damien and I's apartment.

-CODE BLACK-

"Hey Bright Eyes, where are you?"

I startle awake as the sound of Damien's voice fills the apartment. I take in my surroundings with confusion and realise that I'm on the sofa in the living area with a blanket over me. I must have fallen asleep.

"In here," I call back stretching slightly trying to ease the stiffness in my back and shoulders. Gosh falling asleep on the couch was not a good idea. "I feel asleep on the couch."

"And let me guess, you're stiff?" Damien says as he enters the room. "You've got mail."

"How'd you guess?" I say taking the envelopes off him and flicking through them. "Medical bill… Lawyer bill… Rent… Oh this month is going to be fun. Good thing I'm insured. Oh, this one's from the Lasker DeBakey Foundation."

I open the envelope quickly and scan the document. It was only telling me when and where the awards ceremony was.

"The awards ceremony is in March on the twentieth," I say. "And it's in LA thank goodness."

"That's good," Damien say sitting beside me as I set the envelopes on the coffee table. "You look exhausted."

"So, I look how I feel then," I smile weakly which causes his expression to turn to concern. "Don't worry it's just the effects of the fever. As soon as I'm off…"

"Fever!?" He exclaims feeling my forehead. "Gosh your boiling!"

"Let me finish," I whisper taking his hands away from my face gently. "As soon as the Aprotinin is out of my system it will go away. It's just a side effect. It's also the reason why my stomach is upset. I was only taken off it this morning. It'll be out of my system by this time tomorrow. And then it'll take another day or so for me to get past the anaemia symptoms. After that I will be ready for work again."

"You scared me so much," Damien whispers leaning his forehead against mine causing me to sigh. He was a heck of a lot cooler than me. "When I came in to see you so pale and weak and then the re-bleed… Maya I was so scared. You have to be more careful."

"I know," I whisper back.

Damien kisses me then. Slow and tender. It was more a thank goodness your alive kiss that anything else. Both of us were too tired for this to go further. He pulls back after a minute and runs his hand through my hair.

"I'm going to get you some tea, toast and ibuprofen then we're going to go to go to bed," He says standing up. "Sound good?"

"Make it paracetomol and we'll have a deal," I say, and he raises an eyebrow confused. "I can't have ibuprofen for a while. It's a blood thinner."

He nods and heads into the kitchen. I sit back into the sofa again and sigh tiredly.

Gosh I was glad to be back home.


End file.
